Brown Rice Salad with Edamame and Citrus-Basil Dressing

I could spend a lot of time telling you that healthy grain salads are going to be the cornerstone of my summer diet, or that this particular variation is a tasty mix of pantry/fridge staples that can be made ahead of when you need it (essential), served cold or at room temperature, packed up for a picnic or potluck, and easily doubled when you need to feed a crowd.

I could probably also tell you that the ingredient list can be tweaked to suit your own tastes and that the dressing makes a mighty fine marinade for chicken and steak, but the really important thing I want to share is that I finally found a foolproof method for making brown rice. One that yields a tender and fluffy product free of the mushiness that's often synonymous with this type of grain. It's life changing, friends. 

If you want to learn the method, too, I'm going to send you over to Saveur for the how-to. It's definitely worth knowing. Oh, and about this salad... it's pretty awesome.

Brown Rice Salad with Edamame and Citrus-Basil Dressing

• 2 ½ - 3 cups cooked brown rice
• 2 carrots, grated
• 1 cup cooked edamame
• 4 green onions, trimmed and thinly sliced on an angle
• Citrus-Basil Dressing (recipe below)
• Salt and pepper
• Fresh cilantro, basil, or mint leaves, for garnish

Combine the rice, carrots, edamame, and green onions in a large bowl. Add half of the vinaigrette and toss to combine. Check the seasonings and add salt, pepper and more dressing, if needed. Garnish with fresh herbs and serve cold or at room temperature.

Citrus-Basil Dressing

This dressing makes more than needed for the salad. Store the leftovers in a lidded container in the fridge for up to five days. Feel free to use the remainder with another salad or as a meat marinade for chicken or steak.

• ¾ cup orange juice
• ¼ cup lime juice
• ½ cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1 ½ tablespoons honey
• ½ cup canola oil

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend for 1 minute. Alternatively, place in a wide-mouth Mason jar and puree with an immersion blender. 

Recipe adapted from here.

Comments

[Mardi (eat. live. travel. write.)]

Salads like this are a staple on my summer table too. This looks great, Jan. Heading over to the "how to" right now!

[Pat]

Delicious! I am thrilled to see this recipe for cooking brown rice, perfectly.
We are going to put this on the menu for the weekend BBQ.
Thanks so much.
Pat

[Jan Scott]

Hi Pat! Oh, good. I will only ever make brown rice using Saveurs method from now on. I thought it turned out perfectly. 

[Jan Scott]

It's a great instructional for making brown rice. I thought it turned out perfectly. You can see by the comments on Saveur's site that most people think so, too.

[leah]

Made the Spicy Sesame Noodles last night for supper! Hubby loved it and got leftovers for lunch too. Adding it to my repertoire and can't wait to try your other salad recipes. Much appreciated -- take care, Leah

[Evelyn Wangari]

Looks delicious!

[Julie]

Delicious.