Black Rice Salad with Mangoes & Tangerines

This is week 2 of BM# 17 for me and for this week, my theme for this week is "Summer Salads". We are not big salad eaters and I prefer my veggies cooked than raw. I know a lot of people who would order salad at a restaurant I'd rather eat something cooked and hearty than a salad. But for this week, I tried 3 different salads that can be put together in no time, but at the same time they are hearty and healthy. 

I wanted to incorporate some kind of a grain in all my salads making them a complete meal instead of just a "salad". Also with the summer temperatures slowly creeping up, these quick cooking meals get done without a sweat and a lighter on the stomach too.

For the first day, I made this black rice and mango salad, recipe adapted from Bon Appetit. Black rice was one of those impulse purchases from Costco and I was looking for recipes to use it. When I found this salad recipe, I was very excited to try it. 

Black rice is a deep, rich black color when raw due to the covering of dark bran. It becomes a beautiful shade of purple when cooked. Black is a great alternate to white or brown rice because it is loaded with antioxidants, vitamin E and fiber, and has a delicious, slightly sweet, nutty taste.

Ingredients:

Black Rice - 2 cups

Mangoes - 2 just-ripe, peeled and diced

Tangerines - 6, peeled and segmented (or use 2 oranges)
Orange/ Yellow or Red Pepper - finely diced

Green onions/ scallions - 6, thinly sliced

Roasted unsalted peanuts - ½cup

 

For the Dressing:
Tangerine/ Orange juice - ¼cup  

Lime juice - ¼cup
Soy sauce - 1tbsp
Vegetable oil - 2tbsp
Salt & Pepper - to taste

Method:

• Rinse rice under cold water; add 2cups of water and pinch of salt to rice, bring to a boil on medium high heat. Lower the heat to low and cook covered until rice is tender and most of the water is absorbed, about 35minutes. Turn off the heat and let the rice stand covered for at least 10 minutes.
• While the rice is cooking, prepare the fruits and the dressing. For the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.
• Spread the rice on a baking sheet and sprinkle with dressing. Let cool. 
• Place mangoes and all the other ingredients in a large bowl, toss the rice gently; season with salt and more lemon juice if desired.

 

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have been cooking up for BM# 17.