Lemony Rice Salad with Winter Vegetables
This rice salad is half rice, half crispy, crunchy, bright and delicious winter vegetables. Add in crispy tempeh and a bright, acidic shallot dressing, and it becomes an easy, prep-able, full meal in no time.
Equipment
- 1 rice cooker
- 1 sheet pan
- 1 chef's knife
Ingredients
- 1 cup short grain white rice
- 1 8 oz. pack of tempeh
- 2 medium shallots
- 1/4 cup chives
- 1 tbsp preserved lemon paste or 1/4 of a preserved lemon, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp honey
- 3 tbsp olive oil plus more as needed
- 1 large radish can be blue radishes or watermelon radishes
- 1 medium fennel bulb
- 1 large carrot
- 1 large grapefruit
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
- Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper as needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Then begin by cooking your rice according to package instructions.
- Use your hands to crumble the tempeh into small pieces. Spread them out on a baking sheet and drizzle with a bit of olive oil and season with salt. Squeeze the juice from 1/2 of a lemon over the tempeh, and then put the lemon half cut-side-down on the baking sheet. Roast at 400°F for 15-18 minutes or until the tempeh is golden brown and crisp.
- While the tempeh is roasting, prepare the dressing. Finely dice the shallots and chop the chives, add them to a large bowl. Add in the preserved lemon paste, the honey, the juice from the second half of the lemon, and the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper as needed and stir to combine.
- Thinly slice the radish, fennel, and carrot. Slice the grapefruit. Add all of the vegetables to the bowl with the dressing and toss with clean hands.
- When the tempeh is finished, pour the cooked rice onto the baking sheet and then take the roasted lemon half and squeeze the remaining pulp onto the rice. Mix to combine everything together.
- To serve, add a generous pile of rice to a plate, layer the salad on top, and top with a few basil leaves.