If you don’t do a lot of cooking, this confetti rice salad
recipe might be the kind of thing you disregard, since it probably appears to
require lots of slicing and dicing, which is true, but that’s a bad reason to
not make it. That would be like not using real confetti for your celebration
because it’s hard to clean up.

The truth of the matter is, with very little practice, all
the veggies for this salad can probably be prepped in less than 15 minutes. In
fact, this would be a great recipe to set your benchmark, and then see how you
improve over time. Or, just use a food processor to chop everything. Either
way, it’s worth the effort.

Obviously, you can adapt this recipe a thousand different
ways, and I’m not just talking about which vegetables you toss in. If you want
something creamier, you can add some mayo, or sour cream, or any combination of
both. If you do, I’d cut back on the oil and vinegar a bit, but either way,
make sure you hold back some of whatever you’re dressing this with.

Any dressing you add before it goes in the fridge will be
full absorbed, and I think the texture is much nicer if we moisten the salad
with more before service. That’s up to you also, but we don’t want our confetti
rice as dry as the real stuff. Other than that, not much can go wrong, and I
really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 12 portions:

2 cups white long grain rice

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cups boiling water

– Place in 9 x 12 baking dish, cover, and cook rice for 35
minutes, then let rest 10 minutes, before fluffing.

1/2 cup green peas

1/2 cup sliced blanched green beans

1/2 cup finely diced blanched carrots

2 large red bell pepper, finely diced

1 large orange bell pepper, finely diced

1/4 cup sliced green onions

1/4 cup red onions

2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste

cayenne to taste

3/4 cup sherry and/or rice vinegar (add 1/2 cup before
fridge, and 1/4 cup after)

3/4 cup olive oil (add 1/2 cup before fridge, and 1/4 cup
after)

1/4 cup freshly chopped dill

1/4 cup freshly chopped Italian parsley

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