Red Camargue Rice Salad with Feta
Grown in the marshy region of the South of France at the mouth of Rhône delta called the Camargue (famous for its wild white horses, pink flamingos, and black bulls), this rice is a hybrid of cultivated and wild rice, and has a lovely nutty flavour. Relatively easy to find nowadays in good supermarkets, I particularly like red rice in salads or pilafs (really lovely with mushrooms) - check out the Waitrose recipe collection for ideas.
Here’s my take on a red rice salad:
Fry up a finely chopped medium onion and garlic clove in a little olive oil till transparent. Add 1/2 cup red rice and 1/2 cup brown long grain rice and stir till well coated. Add 2 cups of water (or I like a mushroom stock), cover and simmer till all the water has been absorbed. Mix together one crushed garlic clove (though I prefer to pound it to a paste using a mortar and pestle for a less sharp flavour), 1 tbs sherry vinegar, 3 tbs olive oil, 1 tsp dijon mustard, and a little salt and pepper. Pour over the still warm rice and mix well. Crumble some feta cheese on top, sprinkle with sumac and chopped mint and serve.
Optional: add a tablespoon or two of green tapenade for a slightly sharper taste, some chopped roasted hazelnuts or pistachio for a bit of crunch, some chopped grilled and peeled red peppers (a good store-bought jar is a really good option) for sweetness.
