Brown Rice Salad

Last year at the film festival I had a delicious brown rice salad from Mr Close who were running the festival cafe. They did a wonderful job providing tasty, nutritious meals and had a different selection every day. It made a pleasant change from the usual popcorn and choctops. Don't get me wrong I love me some choctops and popcorn, but seeing 15 films in 2 weeks is taxing enough without cramming myself full of salty, sugary treats every single session.

Last week while scrolling through my phone I found a list of ingredients, that I noted down for later use: brown rice, capsicum, pistachios, chilli and parsley. Tonight I decided to give my own version a go using things I had in the fridge and pantry. I love the nutty, wholesome flavour of the brown rice and the sweetness of the figs and pomegranate. Yes, there are two types of capsicum! I had a jar of roast red peppers I wanted to finish off, but also a couple of fresh ones in the fridge. The soft sweet roasted ones have a slight vinegar flavour, while the fresh ones retain their crunch, only being cooked for a few minutes.

You could easily use pistachios or pine nuts, sub some soft apricots for the figs, add some pumpkin or blanched green bean, whatever is in season.

Brown Rice Salad
2 cups brown rice
2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1-2 teaspoons chilli flakes
2 capsicum, small cubes
2 small zucchini, small cubes
1 roasted red capsicum
5-6 dried figs (Soft and Juicy ones are great)
1/2 cup almonds, roughly chopped
seeds of one pomegranate
2 -3 springs of mint leaves, finely chopped
Optional: chia seeds and sesame seeds

Cook the rice according to the directions on the packet. While that's happening heat some olive oil in a fry pan over medium heat and add the garlic and chilli. Once it's warmed through add the capsicum and cook for a couple of minutes, then add the zucchini and cook until slightly softened. Mix through the figs, roasted capsicum and almonds and turn off heat. Once rice has cooked place in a large bowl, add vegetables, pomegranate and mint. Sprinkle with chia and sesame seeds if you like.

Stephan is mad for protein, so I grilled some chicken to go with it. There's enough left over for lunches tomorrow!