Japonica Rice and Veggie Salad

This is another one of those quick, easy and healthy recipes that I have been making a lot lately. When the weather turns nice all I want to do is enjoy the fresh air. There is something about spring that just makes me happy. This is a simple rice salad made special by the beautiful mahogany colored rice. Here is what I did.

Japonica Rice and Veggie Salad
Serves 5

Ingredients:

1 cup black japonica rice
2 cups water
1 pinch kosher salt
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 teaspoon oregano
½ cup cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters
½ cup marinated mushrooms, cut into bite sized pieces
1 cup brined artichoke hearts, roughly chopped
1 cup chickpeas
1 cup cucumber, finely diced
5 servings vegan slicing cheese, cut into bite size chunks
10 cups baby spinach
salt and pepper, as necessary

Directions:

Cook the rice, water and salt according to the package directions. Add the lemon juice, zest and oregano to the rice as it is cooling so that it will absorb the flavors. Once the rice has cooled to room temperature add the remaining ingredients, except the spinach. Stir to combine. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as necessary. Serve the rice salad on a bed of spinach.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 363.21
Calories From Fat (15%) - 52.94

Total Fat - 6.33g
Saturated Fat - 1g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 349.73mg
Potassium - 1071.08mg
Total Carbohydrates - 71.26g
Fiber - 10.41g
Sugar - 4.24g
Protein - 11.7g

Comments:

I made variations of this all summer long. When the weather is beginning to warm I start to crave cold food. This salad has a lot of flavor from the marinated veggies. You can add any veggies you like, these are just the ones I had on hand but they all work. If you are going to add oil to the salad I suggest that you add it at the end when you are serving. This dish has so much flavor the oil is unnecessary, in my opinion.

Unrelated note:

My hubby has decided that we need to go out to dinner tonight to relax. I guess this is his way of saying I need to relax, although he is being more diplomatic about than I would be. So there won’t be a recipe from dinner tonight. I will try to remember to take my camera and get some shots of our meal this evening in case it inspires some recipes at your house.

I need to run and get a few things accomplished before our date. I hope all of you are having a good day too.