Rice Salad, Chicken and Brocoli

Yesterday I wanted to make a rice salad, but have never had one I really liked. So I turned to my favorite cookbook, How to Cook Everything, by Mark Bittman and found his rice salad with apricots. He suggested rice or other grains and I picked half a cup each of wild rice, wheat berries and pearled barley. Unlike rice, these grains have a "bite" to them and are also very healthy.

I also had a roasted chicken with sriracha aioli (Sriracha hot sauce and mayonnaise) on the side for dipping and steamed broccoli.

The meal was delicious! The broccoli was good with the rice and the aioli. The rice was a little sweet, a bit spicy and savory. This dish will definitely be making more appearances in my home.

I did not have dried apricots, so I substituted dried cherries and raisins.

Mark Bittman’s Rice Salad with Dried Apricots

½ cup each wild rice, pearled barley and wheat berries, cooled

1 cup chopped apricots or raisins and dried cherries

½ cup slivered almonds, toasted

½ cup chopped scallion

¼ to ½ vinaigrette made with white vinegar and walnut and olive oil

1 tablespoon ground coriander

2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 ½ teaspoon cayenne

S&P

½ cup cilantro leaves, chopped

Combine rice, fruit, almonds, and scallion and add vinaigrette. Sprinkle with spices and salt and pepper. Stir in cilantro and taste for any adjustments in spice

Tuna Steak with Sesame Seeds, Roasted Broccoli and Black Japonica Rice

This is a simple and delicious meal. Japonica rice and wheat berries are nutty and chewy and this dish works really well with the tuna. Black sesame seeds taste the same as white, but look far more dramatic. The peanut oil withstands high temps and works well with seeds.

Tuna Steak with Sesame Seeds
4-6 ounces tuna per person
Black or white sesame seeds (black available at Asian markets)
Oil to cover pan, I prefer peanut
Salt & pepper
Wasabi Mayonnaise
Heat a cast iron pan until hot. Mix sesame seeds, salt & pepper and coat tuna with mixture. Cook until medium rare, 2 minutes a side.
Serve with wasabi mayonnaise--purchase already made or make your own.

Black Japonica Rice
1 cup rice
¼ cup wheat berries
2 ½ cups chicken or vegetarian broth
1 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon butter
Salt
Sauté onion in butter until wilted, boil water, add rice and berries and simmer on low, 50 minutes. Sit 10.
Roasted Broccoli
1 head broccoli
2 cloves garlic, minced
lemon, juice and zest
Salt and pepper
2-3 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 425. Cut florets from stems, trim tough part of stems and slice into bite sized pieces. On a baking sheet, combine broccoli, garlic, salt and pepper, olive oil. Bake in oven 20-25 minutes, until broccoli begins to brown, stirring once or twice. When broccoli is done, toss with lemon juice and zest.