Go Back

Provençal Grain Salad with Green Beans and Lemon-Parsley Oil

From Neighborhood by Hetty McKinnon © 2016 by Hetty McKinnon. Photography © 2016 by Luisa Brimble. Reprinted in arrangement with Roost Books, an imprint of Shambhala Publications, Inc. Boulder, CO. www.roostbooks.com
Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • ½ cup 100 g Camargue red rice
  • 1 cup 200 g brown rice
  • ½ cup 100 g quinoa (white, red, or a mix), rinsed
  • ½ cup 100 g coarse bulgur wheat (cracked wheat)
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • ½ lb 200 g green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 in (2 cm) pieces
  • One half 15 oz can 250 g chickpeas (about 1 cup), drained and rinsed
  • 12 pitted green olives
  • 3 tablespoons finely sliced green onions
  • ½ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves finely chopped
  • 3 tablespoons walnuts toasted and crushed
  • Sea salt and black pepper

LEMON-PARSLEY OIL

  • 1 small garlic clove very finely chopped
  • ½ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves chopped
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon walnut oil or other neutral oil like grapeseed
  • Squeeze of lemon juice
  • Sea salt and black pepper

SUBSTITUTES

  • Camargue red rice: wild rice black rice

Instructions
 

  • Add the red and brown rice to a saucepan with 6 cups (1.5 liters)of water and a big pinch of salt. Cover with a lid and bring to aboil over a medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to a simmer and leave to cook for 15–20 minutes, until the grains are soft and all the water has been absorbed (if there is any water left at this point, simply drain it away). If you prefer, you can cook this in a rice cooker instead.
  • Combine the quinoa and bulgur wheat and cook them in 2 cups (500 ml) of salted water until soft, draining off any remaining water as before. Leave the mixture to sit in the hot saucepan for 5–10 minutes to dry out and fluff up.
  • Heat the olive oil in a small frying pan over a high heat, add the beans, and fry with a pinch of salt for 4–5 minutes until tender and starting to brown. Leave to cool.
  • To make the lemon-parsley oil, add the garlic and 1 teaspoon of salt to a mortar and pound together with a pestle to form a rough paste. Add the parsley and pound until the leaves are broken down and the paste is green, then stir in the oils and lemon juice, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
  • Combine the red rice, brown rice, quinoa, bulgur wheat, chickpeas, green beans, green olives, green onion, and parsley in a big bowl and stir well, then season with salt and pepper. To serve, scatter over the walnuts and drizzle over the lemon-parsley oil.