A Salad for February

This is a colourful visual statement on your plate for healthy February eating - and it’s vegan too. Red rice is referred to as a super-food but to me that is just a marketing ploy. Most natural ingredients are “super” in their own way, we just need a broad balanced diet to make sure we get a wide variety of nutrients.

Ingredients For 4-6 to share
500g Red Rice
2 tablespoons Rapeseed Oil
2 teaspoons Sumac
300g Heritage Carrots, diced
300g Heritage Beetroots, diced

For the Tahini Emulsion
1 Garlic clove
150ml Rapeseed Oil
1 tablespoon Golden Syrup
75g Tahini Paste
2 teaspoons chopped Thyme
Juice of 1 Lemon
50ml White Wine
Salt, freshly ground Black Pepper

To finish
A mixture of Beetroot Leaves, Wintercress, Dill, Chives or Curley Parsley

Method

• Wash the rice under the cold tap. Bring a large pan of lightly salted water up to boil, cook the rice for 30 minutes. Drain through a sieve, rinse, drain again, add the sumac then dress with 2 spoons of oil. Allow to cool.

• Cook the carrots and beetroot together for 6 minutes in another pan of lightly salted boiling water, drain, refresh, allow to cool.

• Prepare the tahini emulsion. Put the garlic in a small pan over a gentle heat with a dribble of the oil, cook for 2 minutes. Transfer to a food processor add the golden syrup, tahini, thyme, lemon and white wine, blitz together.

• Continue to run the blade whilst slowly adding all the remaining oil- the mixture will emulsify to a thick yoghurt like consistency. Season, taste and season again.

• Make a bed of the sumac red rice on a serving dish, scatter the carrot and beetroot on top, spoon dollops of the tahini emulsion, then finish with beetroot leaves, wintercress and green herbs.