James Avocado Almond Rice Salad
175 gm easy cook brown rice
1 pch salt
1 tsp salad oil
4 x spring onions
6 x cherry tomatoes
55 gm almonds cut into slivers
1 tbl chopped parsley
1 lrg ripe avocado
For the dressing:
4 tbl salad or olive oil
2 tbl fresh lemon or lime juice
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
Method :
Measure the rice into a cup and put it into a saucepan.
Measure twice the volume of water as you had of rice in the same cup pour it in
adding a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of salad oil. Bring to the boil cover turn
the heat right down to low and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.
Meanwhile clean and finely chop the spring onions and wash and halve the
tomatoes. Toast the almonds in a dry frying pan or under the grill for a couple
of minutes until they're pale gold.
Mix all the dressing ingredients together oil juice salt and sugar and either
whisk or shake in a sealed jar.
When the rice is cooked put it into a sieve and run cold water through it for a
minute until it has cooled.
Drain thoroughly and place in a bowl.
Add the chopped spring onions half the chopped parsley and half the salad
dressing and stir till mixed.
Put a layer on the servingdish or plate you're going to use arrange the tomatoes
cut side up decoratively around it and sprinkle over the toasted almonds.
Halve the avocado remove the stone cut each half into quarters and peel the skin
off very carefully.
Put each avocado quarter sharp end away from you onto a choppingboard and with a
sharp knife cut it lengthways into four or five slivers without cutting through
the tip.
Press down gently with the heel of your hand and you'll have a fan of avocado.
Repeat with the remaining quarters and place attractively on the rice salad.
Pour the remaining dressing over the avocados and sprinkle with chopped parsley.
Covered lightly with clingfilm this can be chilled in the fridge for up to 6 to
8 hours before serving.
This combines the crunch of almonds the nutty textures and flavours of browr
rice and the soft melting qualities of avocado. It's very easy to buy easycook
brown rice these days which makes life much quicker as it takes only half the
time to cook as the oldfashioned kind. Lay the salad out on an oval servingdish
and decorate as prettily as you can.
Serves 4