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Sunday, July 20, 2014

Brown Rice Salad with Black-Eyed Peas

If you are looking for new ways to serve black-eyed peas, the good luck dish for bringing in the New Year in the American South, you might want to try the "Brown Rice Salad with Black-Eyed Peas" (page 85). The dish is labeled as one of the "Fast Recipes", meaning it can be prepared in 30 minutes or less, but this is only true if you already have cooked peas and rice on hand. Otherwise, plan ahead. The other ingredients in this salad include red onion, celery, roasted pecans, and fresh parsley, all of which is dressed with oil-based vinaigrette, if you follow the recipe as written. Naturally, I looked for a way to get around the oil-laden dressing (it calls for ½ cup!), and decided to use light vegetable broth in place of the oil. I still mixed this with the cider vinegar and herbs and spices called for to capture the intended flavors. This alternative worked very well, providing plenty of moisture to the salad, especially since cooked rice tends to soak up the wet ingredients. I enjoyed the contrasting textures in this salad - crunchy (onion, celery, pecans), chewy (rice), and soft (black-eyed peas).
 
 Keeping it "McDougall Friendly" checklist:

 
ü   Use light vegetable broth in place of the oil when preparing the dressing.

2 comments:

  1. I love the idea of making this salad, and others (perhaps panzanella!), with broth as a replacement for oil. In my case I like things vinegary or otherwise acidic. So much so that I think I make other people pucker a little, heh. This would be a good trick to use if I have company :)

    Your blog is one of the tools I use a lot as a 'continuing education' resource for the McDougall woe.

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    1. Hi Danielle! I like things a little on the vinegary side as well, but my husband is just the opposite - I usually have to reduce what a recipe calls for to keep him happy, then add more to my own servings. I have found a very mild and sweet balsamic vinegar that we both love and seems to agree with him, so that has been helpful.

      Aw, I'm so honored that you can use my blog as a continuing education resource! Thanks for sharing that with me! :-)

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