Brown Rice Salad with Roasted Vegetables
Delicious Brown Rice Salad with Roasted Vegetables. Tomato, Asparagus, Pumpkin, Carrot, any of them may be used. Vegan, Gluten free, easy to make for a refreshing lunch.
Servings: 2 persons
Calories: 541kcal
Ingredients
To Roast Tomatoes and Asparagus
- 2 cups Tomatoes sliced
- 10 stalks asparagus
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ tablespoon olive oil or sunflower oil
- ½ teaspoon sugar brown or white sugar
To Cook Brown Rice
- 1 cup Brown Rice Long grained (quantity will increase after soaking)
- 1.25 cups water depending on variety of brown rice
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
To Saute
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or sunflower oil
- ½ cup Onions sliced
- ¼ cup Spring Onions scallions sliced -greens and whites separated
- 1 cup Cherry tomatoes halved or kept whole
To make the Dressing
- ¼ cup Fresh lemon juice
- 1 fresh red chili stalk and seeds removed by a slit to the side
- ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon pepper freshly ground
Other ingredients
- 2 cups lettuce shredded or other salad greens - optional
Instructions
How to Cook Brown Rice
- The time for cooking brown rice depends on the variety/ brand. Brown rice cooks faster when pre-soaked. Rinse and drain the rice 2-3 times, add 2 cups of water, and set aside for about 45 minutes. Soaking overnight would further reduce cooking time to about 20 minutes.
- After soaking the rice as above, drain. Meanwhile bring 1¼ cups of water to boil, add salt. Add the soaked rice to the boiling water. When it begins to boil again, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for about 30 minutes. As cooking times can differ, after 20 minutes keep checking to see if the rice is done and all the water has been absorbed. Remove the pan from the stove so that it stops cooking.
- Transfer the brown rice to a plate, spread it out to cool and for the grains of rice not to stick together
How to Roast Tomatoes and Asparagus
- While the rice is soaking, pre-heat the oven to 425F (about 220 C).Snap-off the thick stalks of the asparagus. Slice the tomatoes into large chunks and sprinkle them with sugar and a pinch of salt. Sprinkle olive oil on the tomatoes, asparagus and garlic
- Arrange the tomatoes cut side down on a baking sheet, leaving some space between each slice. Place the garlic on the sheet. Place the asparagus on a separate sheet if there is no room in this sheet.
- Bake for 15 minutes and then remove the asparagus, transferring it immediately to a bowl so that it stops baking in the heat of the sheet. Slice the asparagus to one inch pieces. Increase oven heat to 450 F (about 230C) and roast the tomatoes for another 15 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
How to Prepare the Other ingredients
- Heat the oil in a pan. Add onions and sauté till translucent, about 2 minutes. Peel and add the roasted garlic. Add the sliced white part of the scallions (spring onions), sauté for one minute (set the scallion greens aside for use while mixing the salad)
- Add the cherry tomato slices, sauté for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and transfer onion and tomato to a bowl.
How to mix the salad dressing
- Add the sliced chili to the fresh lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and whisk the seasonings in. Links to recipes for other suggested salad dressings are in the post above.
How to Make Brown Rice Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Asparagus
- On each serving plate, add a portion of rice, some salad greens torn into bite sized pieces, some roasted tomato, sliced asparagus, scallion greens.
- Add some of the sautéed onion and cherry tomato mixture. Drizzle with the dressing and serve.
Nutrition
Serving: 2cups | Calories: 541kcal | Carbohydrates: 96g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 917mg | Potassium: 1198mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 5215IU | Vitamin C: 95mg | Calcium: 105mg | Iron: 5mg
