Funnily enough, I have never actually been a fan of rice, always found it a little bland! Probably not the best way to entice you to try my food but it was the reason why I created this dish. I wanted to create a recipe based around rice that was full of flavour and texture – one that I would love! I didn’t figure I could go too far wrong with nutty rice combined with the sweet honey roasted vegetables, creamy goats cheese and all topped with a delicious punchy basil pesto! Plus whilst I was on my trip home to the UK, I promised my family a day of cooking to spark ideas for healthy dinners and meals that can be prepared in advance for a busy lifestyle! Although I am putting my hands up here to say the choice of the gold-serving plate wasn’t mine!

Through teaching the fam, I actually ended up helping myself find I dish that I absolutely love! Safe to say my opinion on rice has well and truly changed. This salad is the definition of scrumptious. It’s sweet, earthy, creamy and nutty all in one! The perfect packed lunch for work, it can be made in advance and keeps well in the fridge for 2-3 days and the added goats cheese feels like you’ve just had an indulgent dining experience whilst still remaining healthy and nutritious. I also think, (and have been told as not quite a mum myself yet!) that this is the perfect family dinner for mothers who don’t fancy cooking endless separate meals for them and the kids – everyone enjoys the food, and no hours spent cooking, win win!

Quick nutrition point…it’s a pretty well known fact now but please if you are using rice, don’t substitute the healthy brown/wild/red rice with the white stuff! It’s the same story as bread, far less nutritional value and taste than the dark stuff!

I really hope you enjoy this as much as I did and for anyone who was similar to me in their lack of love for rice, I’m confident this will change your opinion! You can team it with some grilled chicken or spicy salmon to add lean protein to the dish, it’s incredibly versatile so get experimenting!

Wild rice and Roasted Vegetable salad with Goats Cheese

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

50 mins

Total time

1 hour

 

Wild Rice Salad with Roasted Vegetables and Goats Cheese

Author: Lean Living Girl

Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients

Salad

• 150g Red Camargue & Wil Rice
• 800ml Water
• 300g Parsnips
• 200g Carrots
• 1 Red Pepper
• 1 Red Onion
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 70g Goats cheese
• Basil leaves to garnish

Roast Vegetable marinade

• 2 Tbs Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 tsp whole grain mustard
• ½ tsp paprika
• 1 tbs honey
• Pinch of sea salt and pepper

Basil Pesto

• 2 cups of basil leaves
• 1 cup of mint
• 2 garlic cloves
• Pinch of rock salt and pepper
• ¼ cup pine nuts
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 2 Tbs virgin olive oil
• Splash of water to loosen up pesto (to taste)

Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180℃
2. Wash and chop up all the vegetables into equal size chunks except the red onion which should be sliced into 8 wedges and place in baking tray.
3. Make the vegetable marinade by combining all ingredients in a bowl and pour over vegetables.
4. Toss all the vegetables in the mixture until fully coated.
5. Roast for 40 minutes or until starting to crisp and turn golden brown.
6. While the vegetables are roasting, cook the rice by adding the water and rice to a pan and bring to the boil. Then simmer for 45 minutes or until rice is cooked throughout. You may want to add more water as the rice is cooking if it boils down.
7. Make the basil pesto by combining all ingredients in a blender and whiz.
8. Drain the rice thoroughly and mix in the roasted vegetables. Tear up the goats cheese and place evenly amongst the salad.
9. Top with basil pesto and fresh basil leaves.

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