Pumpkin And Red Rice Salad

This Italian-inspired salad is bursting with the sweet flavours of roast veg, fresh tomato, and aromatic herbs

 

Servings: 4

Total Time: 30 minutes

 

Ingredients: 

  • 250g cooked red rice (or cooked brown rice)
  • 1 × 400g tin butter beans
  • 3 ripe tomatoes chopped into bitesize pieces
  • A handful of pickled red onions
  • 150g roasted unpeeled pumpkin, cut into wedges
  • 50ml olive oil
  • 2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
  • i10″>2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tbsp coconut syrup
  • 100g rocket
  • 1 small bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 1 tbsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • pinch of salt
  • 50g toasted pine nuts

 

Method:

  • When cooking your rice, make sure to add some salt as you cook it. That way the salt cooks into the grain as opposed to if you season it later, when it simply sits on the surface. If you’re using brown rice instead, add 2 tablespoons of sweet paprika and 1 teaspoon of oil to it.
  • Drain and rinse the beans. Finely chop the fresh parsley, including the stalks.
  • To make the dressing whisk or blend the olive oil, vinegar, soy sauce or tamari, and coconut syrup together.
  • In a large serving bowl, start with the cooked rice, then add the beans, tomatoes, and pickled red onions. Drizzle over the dressing, then add the cooked veg, rocket and herbs and gently mix through.
  • Season with the salt, dried oregano and dried thyme, then taste and adjust if needed. Finally, scatter over the toasted pine nuts.