Black Rice Rainbow Salad
This Black Rice Salad is a beautiful one-bowl recipe bursting to the brim with a rainbow-hued riot of textures from creamy avocado and feta to crispy chickpeas and toasted pistachios. A versatile tahini-yogurt dressing brings it all together with a medley of Mediterranean-inspired flavours!
Ingredients
- ½ cup black rice
- ⅓-½ cup cherry tomatoes, cut in halves
- ½ cucumber, thinly-cut
- ½ avocado, cut in cubes
- ⅓-½ block of feta, cut in cubes
- 1 big bunch of parsley, de-stemmed
- ¼-⅓ cup pistachios, toasted
For the crispy chickpeas
- ⅓-½ cup chickpeas, soaked overnight
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp paprika
- sea salt
- black pepper
For the tahini-yogurt dressing
- ⅓ cup hung curd
- 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp tahini
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Cook the black rice
- Soak the black rice for 15-20 minutes beforehand in cold water.
- Cook ½ cup of black rice with approx. 3 cups of water until the rice is just shy al dente. Drain the rice and set aside to cool.
Prepare the crispy chickpeas
- Cook the chickpeas in a pressure-cooker until softened. Drain and pat-dry the chick-peas.
- Pre-heat you oven to 180°C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Toss the chickpeas with olive oil, paprika, sea salt and pepper until evenly coated.
- Bake the chickpeas for 20-25 minutes or so until crisp and golden-brown. Remove and set aside to cool.
Prepare the dressing
- Whisk together the hung curd with tahini, garlic and lemon juice.
- Stir in olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust according to preference: for instance, adding more tahini for a nutty kick, more lemon juice for a zing etc.
Assemble the salad
- Add the black rice, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, feta, crispy chickpeas, avocado, parsley and toasted pistachios to a large mixing bowl. Toss together until evenly combined.
- Spread the salad out in a serving bowl. Spoon some tahini-yogurt on top and garnish with parsley. Enjoy!
