Now that warm weather fruits are here, I’m obsessed with putting fruit in everything. It’s just that there are so few things (is there anything?!) that can’t be improved with the addition of some delicious fruit.
I wanted to give a summery feel to this salad (yeah I know it’s not summer yet, stop bursting my bubble), so I cut up a little mango and tasted it. YOU GUYS. It’s perfect. Something about the combination of the mangoes and the avocado and the dressing with the rice…oh man…where’s my bowl?
- 1 c. black rice
- 1 3/4 c. water
- 2 T. rice vinegar
- 2 T. lemon juice
- 2 T. orange juice
- 1 t. sesame oil
- flesh of 2 mangoes, finely diced
- flesh of 1 avocado, finely diced
- 1/2 c. cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/4 c. cucumber, finely chopped
- 1 green onion, thinly sliced
- Stir together water, black rice, and a dash of salt in a saucepan.
- Heat over medium heat until boiling.
- Lower the heat to low and cook, covered, for 30 minutes or until the rice is fully cooked.
- Remove pan from heat and let rice sit for 10 minutes.
- While rice is sitting, stir together the vinegar, lemon juice, orange juice, and sesame oil in a small bowl.
- Pour the mixture into the rice pot, fluff rice with a fork gently to evenly distribute the dressing. Put the top back on the rice and let it cool to room temperature.
- When the rice is at room temp, fold in the mangoes, tomatoes, and cucumber. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Sprinkle avocado pieces and green onion on top and serve.
Let’s talk about black rice for a minute. It’s a whole grain like brown rice, which means the nutritious bran is left on the grain. Black rice gets it’s rich color from the anthocyanins in its bran, the same awesome antioxidants that give blueberries their beautiful color. It’s becoming more and more common in grocery stores (I’ve found it at the Kroger, Costco, and Whole Foods in my area) so look for it next time you’re shopping!
This salad would be the perfect thing to take to a party or potluck this spring! Or to stuff in your face all at once 5 minutes after you blog about it.
-Lauren
6 Responses
ellie @ fit for the soul
You seriously have some of the prettiest food around, Lauren! And I’m curious…not sure if you mentioned it before. But do you shoot in RAW mode?
Lauren @ Dash of Soul
Thanks Ellie, you’re the sweetest! I played around with shooting in RAW, but for the camera I have I really love the JPEGs that come out of the camera so I stopped bothering with RAW.
Carissa @ Pretty/Hungry
What a beautiful dish! I’ll have to give black rice a try!
Mani @ A New Life Wandering
Looks so yummy and bright and beautiful and colorful and simple, and just awesome.
Lauren @ Dash of Soul
Thank you so much, Mani! 🙂
Charlee
Sounds so healthy and yum! can i substitute the mango for grapes do you think?