Maybe I've been under a rock or maybe it's a fairly new food to be introduced, but either way black rice is news to me.

I just recently saw it popping up here and there and decided I would give it a try for myself to see if I liked it.  I did some research and turns out black rice is an up in coming superfood that we should be incorporating in our diets on a regular basis.  Hmmm...tasty and nutritious...sign me up.

Just in case you didn't know, because I sure didn't know, black rice contains the same antioxidant found in blueberries, blackberries, and other purple foods.  It actually contains more of the antioxidants if you were to compare spoonful to spoonful, but with added fiber, lower sugar, and more vitamin E!  Whaat??  That's crazy, and really cool in my book because we cook rice in my house pretty frequently.  It's name forbidden rice comes from the fact that in ancient China, only emperors and nobles were allowed to eat it and it was forbidden to any commoners.  As you can see, I learned A LOT!

But anyway, on the recipe.  I thought it would pretty delicious to make a salad out of it for lunches or to serve with a piece of fish for dinner.  So I did just that.  This salad is packed full of good for you stuff including all kinds of veggies, healthy oils, and herbs.

I'm going to go ahead and call it.  Black rice and I have a lot more experimenting to do!  Apparently it's great for rice puddings and other desserts as well due to it's slightly sweet and nutty flavor.  Who knows maybe I'll try that next!  For now, I'm going to stick to adding it in throughout the week when I need a good side dish!

It was delicious, had great texture, and with all the veggies added it really was loaded with tons of extra nutrients.

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Black Rice
• Water (2 cups if using a rice cooker, 4 cups if cooking it on the stove)
• 2 Garlic Cloves
• 1/2 Cup Green Beans
• 1/4 Cup Edamame
• 3 Green Onions
• 1/4 Cup Grape Tomatoes
• 1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 Tbsp. Parsley (dried or fresh)
• 2 Tbsp. Basil (dried or fresh)
• 1 Tsp. Oregano (dried)
• 1/2 Tsp. Crushed Red Pepper
• Juice of 2 Lemons
• 1 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
• Salt and Pepper
• 1/4 Cup Feta Cheese (Reduced Fat or Regular)

*You can easily substitute any veggies and herbs you have in your fridge already!

Directions:

-If you are using a rice cooker (which I highly recommend investing in if you don't have one, it has changed my life in the rice department), just measure out equal parts rice and water, added two crushed garlic cloves and some salt and push the on button and forget about it!  I have a Japanese rice cooker that allows me to select a harder rice setting, but in the case of a normal rice cooker you might have to do two rounds of cooking if the black rice isn't tender after the first cook.  It will be a bit al dente though and that is how you want it.

-If you are cooking on the stove top, you will want to do two parts water to every one cup of rice.   And then you will want to bring the water to a boil and add salt and your rice, reduce heat to simmer and cover for 45-an hour depending on if the rice gets cooked or not.  The black rice is a little harder of a rice and requires a little more time.

-While the rice is cooking, bring a big pot of water to a boil and salt your water heavily.  Add your veggies except for your green onions and tomatoes.  Blanch for a couple of minutes. You do not want to lose the vibrant colors of the vegetables or the bite.  You want the veggies to still have a little crunch.  Have a large bowl of salted ice water (this way you don't wash the salt off that you just flavored them with in the pot) and once veggies are blanched you will want to shock them in the water to prevent over cooking.  Once fully cooled, drain and pat dry.

-Mix together in a bowl your lemon juice, herbs, salt and pepper, and vinegar and slowly whisk in your oil to make your dressing.

-When rice is done, discard of your garlic cloves and add rice to bowl.  Add in all of your veggies and dressing and combine well.  Taste...you may have to add a little more salt and pepper. Sprinkle with feta cheese and your ready to go.

-This salad is great warm and cold so the leftovers make a great lunch the next day!

I cooked a piece of salmon and served this on the side.  It was so delicious with all of the flavors,  I was actually flaking the salmon into the salad and eating it all together!  So yummy and so good for you!

I really love eating a meal where the colors tell you that you are doing something good for your body!  You have to give black rice a try and I promise to keep sharing any new ways I experiment with it!

And hey, if you have been on the black rice band wagon for a while now, I would love for you to share any ideas or recipes that you are loving!