Healthy Mediterranean brown rice salad (vegan)
A Mediterranean brown rice salad ideal as a healthy side or a light lunch. The tahini dressing (from sesame seeds) adds more health benefits.
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 247kcal
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 1.5 cups parboiled brown rice
- 2 persian cucumbers or 1 English cucumber, chopped
- 2 green onions chopped
- 1 cup fresh parsley chopped
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- ½ cup pitted and sliced olives
For the lemon – tahini dressing:
- ⅓ cup tahini
- 2 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
- 4 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 3 tablespoons water you may need more
- 0.5 teaspoon fine salt
- 0.5 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
- 1 teaspoon dried garlic powder or 1 minced garlic clove, optional
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
Instructions
- Cook the brown rice according to the directions of the packadging.
- Make the salad:Transfer the cooked rice and the rest of the salad ingredients to a large salad bowl and toss to combine.
- Make the dressing:Transfer the tahini, the olive oil, 3 tablespoons of the lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon of the water to a small bowl or jar and mix with a spoon until creamy. Add the salt, the pepper, the garlic and the cumin. Taste and add more lemon juice or salt according to your taste. Add more water until you get a thinner, pourable consistency.
- Pour the dressing over the rice salad and serve.
Notes
This recipe makes 8 servings as a side or 4 servings as a meal.
You can use lime juice instead of lemon juice, but you may need more to achieve the same level of tanginess.
Add a chopped tomato for a juicier salad.
You can replace the olives with capers.
Instead of green onions you can also use a finely chopped red onion or sweet onion.
Ground cumin can lose its power when stored for a long time. If your cumin is not very fresh you may have to increase the quantity.
Nutrition
Calories: 247kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Sodium: 289mg | Potassium: 287mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1241IU | Vitamin C: 45mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 2mg
