RICE SALAD

This is another good meal for using up leftover bits and pieces so
alter the ingredients to suit yourself. Try prawns, tuna, smoked
salmon or a mixture of all three instead of cold meat, or keep it
vegetarian and add more salad ingredients such as finely chopped
peppers and mushrooms.
The most important point is to cool the cooked rice quickly by
straining through a colander immediately then rinsing under cold
running water and refrigerating as soon as possible. (If you leave
cooked rice to cool down gradually the warm starch can become a
haven for nasty bacteria.) Reheat cold rice in the microwave or in
a pan with very hot oil until it’s piping hot.
1⁄2 lb (225 g) basmati rice
Sugar snap peas
Baby sweetcorn
Baby plum tomatoes
Leftover chicken breast meat
A few slices of cold ham
1 avocado
2 spring onions
Chives
Olive oil
Salt & pepper
Method
1. Rinse the rice and put it in a saucepan of boiling water; boil
rapidly for a couple of minutes then turn the heat down low
and simmer gently for about 10 minutes (don’t walk away and
do something else; you don’t want mushy, overcooked rice).
2. Strain the cooked rice through a colander; rinse with plenty of
cold water, then put the drained rice in a large bowl. Cover
loosely with a clean cloth or a piece of foil. (You don’t need to
keep the rice in the fridge if you’re planning to eat it straight
away; rice salad tastes better at room temperature than chilled.)
3. Just cook the baby sweetcorn and sugar snap peas (preferably
in the microwave) so they still have plenty of crunch, then add
to the rice.
4. Chop the meat, halve the avocado and cut into chunks, then
add everything to the bowl of rice with the seasoning,
whichever herbs you want to use, and a little olive oil.
5. Blend everything together by stirring gently with a large metal
spoon and serve.