VEGAN SALADES DE RIZ

[Rice Salads]

...not sure why it's plural...but maybe because of the individual servings on a bed of lettuce...

...anywhoo...we had some ham seitan left over from our Easter Feast that I wanted to use up...so I went looking for a recipe that would use that...

...and basically this is an assembly recipe...in that you just dice a bunch of things and put them into some cooked rice...

...to which you've added some 'good salad oil'...I used a light Olive oil...

...and some vinegar...I used a white wine vinegar...

...then you just add all your diced veggies and vegan ham to some VEGAN RIZ À L'INDIENNE - RIZ À LA VAPEUR...to which you've added some chopped shallots including the green parts...but I didn't have any shallots...so I subbed some green chives...not quite the same I know...sorry...

...Julia specifies that the olives are to be quartered lengthwise...and that you stir everything together with a wooden spoon to avoid breaking the rice and making it sticky...so I did...not too sure it was necessary because the VEGAN RIZ À L'INDIENNE - RIZ À LA VAPEUR really is the most perfect way to cook rice...it has never failed me (yet) and it's always perfectly fluffy and separate...

...all stirred together...it made a very pretty and colourful salad...

...Julia says to serve it on a bed of romaine...which I also didn't have...so I subbed the more tender red leaf lettuce that I did have...and I shaped the salad in a little plastic storage container...just to make it pretty...Julia says to mound the rice salad on top of the lettuce...

...and then you top that with some broccoli spears that you have "steamed and seasoned nicely beforehand with salt, pepper, lemon, and oil"...see...you really do have to read the ENTIRE recipe before you begin...or you won't have your broccoli ready when you need it...

...it made a lovely and delicious little salad...a perfect first course...

Substitutions:

...there aren't any subs from VEGAN RIZ À L'INDIENNE - RIZ À LA VAPEUR...but you need to make that recipe first...
Vegan Ham for the ham in the recipe...I described the recipe I used here...but Tracey's blog, that I got it from, no longer exists...I have it copied in my notebook if you want it just let me know...

It's really strange but the recipe is not in the online version of Mastering the Art of French Cooking that I usually link to...but in mine it's on p. 532

...sorry I couldn't find an online version of the recipe...but it's a pretty straight forward assembly of ingredients...where the amounts don't have to be too exact...