Almost a staple in the Italian summers when it’s too hot to eat anything warm, this rice salad is guaranteed to bring back the appetite with its fresh mix of mouthwatering ingredients.
For me, making it means that the good season has finally arrived.
The original recipe calls for frankfurters, boiled eggs and Swiss cheese, but I prefer this lighter version with more vegetables.
Replace the tuna with smoked tofu and it becomes a vegetarian dish.
Just be sure to prepare plenty of it because it makes a very enjoyable leftover.
Ingredients:
(serves 6) Sp Sr Gf
- 2 cups of Arborio rice (or any rice that doesn’t stick after being cooked)
- 1 jar of mixed pickled vegetables (like giardiniera)
- 1 ball of fresh mozzarella
- 1 can of oil-packed tuna (2 oz. of drained tuna)
- ½ cup of boiled green peas
- ½ cup of pitted green olives
- ½ red bell pepper, cubed
- ½ yellow bell pepper, cubed
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes
- 4 canned artichoke hearts
- ½ lemon
- 4 Tbsp. of Evoo or 4 Tbsp. homemade mayonnaise (see recipe)
- Salt
Cook the rice al dente in slightly salted water. Let cool down and set aside.
Cube 1 cup of pickled vegetables (carrots, celery, cauliflower, bell peppers) and rinse them under cold running water, other wise the taste will bee too acidic.
Boil the green peas for 20 minutes in slightly salted water, drain and add to the other ingredients.
Cut the olives in two.
Wash and dry the bell peppers and cut half of each into ¼-inch cubes.
Wash and dry the tomatoes, slice them in half and remove the seeds.
Squeeze the canning water out of the artichoke hearts and quarter them.
Drain the canned tuna and mince it.
Put all the ingredients together in a big bowl, dress with the Evoo or the mayonnaise, add the juice of half a lemon, toss well and serve at room temperature.