Completely vegan side dish!
Yield: 8-10 servings
Ingredients:
1c. Bulgur
1/2 c. Quinoa
1/2 c. Israeli CousCous
1/2 c. Wild Rice
1 c. Rice Wine Vinegar
1/2 c. Extra Virgin Olive Oil plus 3 T. for sauté
pan
1 t. Coriander
1 t. Cumin
1 t. Chili Pepper
5 cloves Peeled Garlic
1 Red Onion, diced
2 Carrots. diced
1 Yellow Squash, diced
1 Zucchini Squash, diced
1 Red Pepper, diced
1 Yellow Pepper, diced
3 stalks Celery, diced
1/2 oz. Fresh Tarragon
1/2 oz. Fresh Cilantro
3 Green Onions, chopped
Salt and Pepper
Instructions:
Follow cooking instructions on the package for all grains.
Grains should be tender but not soggy. Allow grains to
cool to room temperature. Cover cooked grains with rice
wine vinegar, olive oil, and dried spices. Coat the bottom
of a large sauté pan with the additional olive
oil and sweat (or cook to translucent) garlic and onion;
around 3-5 minutes. Add carrots and cook for 3 more minutes.
Add yellow squash and zucchini cook for 2 more minutes
or until color of squash brightens (do not over cook squash-
I hate soggy vegetables). Combine cooked vegetables with
grains and add fresh diced peppers and celery. Add fresh
herbs, season to taste with salt and pepper. Combine well.
The grains will absorb more of the flavor if you allow
the salad to chill for a few hours or even overnight.
Note: You can also use sherry vinegar, red wine
vinegar, or balsamic vinegar if you don't have rice wine
vinegar on hand. Just be sure you use good quality vinegar
either way. You may pay more for better quality vinegar,
but you'll get a superior product in both complexity and
depth of flavor. The old adage is true, "You get
what you pay for."
Note on olive oils: Extra virgin olive oils are
produced in the first cold pressing of the olives and
are uncooked. The flavor of oil is varied from country
to country; I prefer both Greek and Italian olive oil.
California even sports an excellent quality olive oil.
Extra virgin oil is used in salads because it is uncooked.
It is usually more expensive (but I like it because I'm
fancy), but definitely a good item to have in your pantry.
Regular olive oil is cooked, more of a stable product,
and has less flavor simply because it is cooked.
