Hearty Brown Rice Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette and Toasted Pecans
- 1 1/4 cup rice, cooked and cooled
- 1/2 cup chickpeas, drained
- 1 cup baby spinach, packed tightly, julienned*
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- salt
- pepper
- 2 tbsp raisins (optional)
- 2 tbsp chopped pecans
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the rice and the chickpeas. Add the spinach. Set aside.
For the Vinaigrette: In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, and basil. Whisk to combine and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the raisins so they start to soak up the dressing.
For the Toasted Pecans**: In a small dish, microwave the pecans on high for 20 seconds at a time, until they smell fragrant. It usually takes 45 seconds or so.
Assembling the Salad: Add the vinaigrette and the toasted pecans to the rice and chickpea mixture. Toss to coat. Cover tightly and let chill in the fridge for at least an hour before serving, so they flavors can combine.
Notes:
* To julienne the spinach, gather it into a fairly neat pile, with most of the leaves facing the same direction. Then just thinly slice it lengthwise. You can also just roughly chop it- it will work just fine.
** This is how I “toast” small amounts of nuts. It works great and doesn’t heat up the kitchen. It’s also harder to burn them!
