Rating: NNNNN
Ever the pragmatist, when the Great Blackout hit, I cleaned out the fridge and made a quick salad using my leftovers. And since I was in training for my CNE marathon, I had a large bowl of nutty organic medium-grain brown rice that I’d mixed with wheat berries, the ultra-nutricious unprocessed kernels of whole grain, in the Kelvinator. Roughage, baby! The delicious results – something I now call Salad à la Dish – surprised even me. Serve it as a main or as a side with almost anything grilled.
Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a pot. Thoroughly rinse 1 cup each medium-grain brown rice and wheat berries and add to boiling water along with the kernels of two corn cobs. Cover, immediately turn heat down to simmer and cook for an hour. Refrigerate overnight. Then add a half-cup each of raisins (or other dried fruit) and diced red onion as well as two chopped celery stalks. Heat fiends can add a little Chinese chili oil or slivered jalapeño to fire it up. Stir in a citrus vinaigrette – fresh orange juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar, a balsamic splash – and garnish with fresh coriander. Let the salad sit for 30 minutes before serving, so the dressing plumps the dried fruit.
