The picnic season has just begun, and you've probably already prepared, or at least consumed, the first potato or pasta salads of the summer.
But there's another option that will be welcomed by picnickers who are bored with pasta and by cooks who are tired of making potato salads.
Rice salads can be prepared in half the time of potato salads, and they're even more versatile than pasta salads.
"I don't know why more people don't think of making rice salads. They order fried rice in Chinese restaurants, down red beans and rice in Mexican restaurants and even eat rice in many of the new 'wrap' sandwiches," said Kim Park, spokeswoman for the Houston-based USA Rice Council.
"At home, it's not unusual for cooks to toss rice into a soup or serve meats and vegetables on a bed of rice. And rice pudding has to be one of America's most popular desserts."
Rice works well with ingredients that range from feta cheese and black olives to snow peas and cucumbers. And dressing the salad can be as easy as opening a bottle of your favorite commercial dressing.
Gourmet groceries are selling rice salads, according to Park."I've seen long-grain and medium-grain rice salads. I've also seen brown rice salads," she said.
But when Park takes a rice salad to a picnic, people still are surprised by the idea, she said.
"When you're making potato salad, the potatoes generally have to be scrubbed, peeled, and then diced or sliced before going into a salad. Rice, on the other hand, can be put in a pot or popped into the microwave with liquid and seasonings and practically be ignored until it's cooked and ready for use in a salad.
"When I'm making my favorite rice salad, I can have all the other ingredients diced or chopped and mixed by the time the rice is cooked," said Park. To make her favorite rice salad, she opens and rinses a can of black beans and also chops four green onions, half a red and half a green bell pepper as well as one-third of a cup of cilantro. To make the dressing, she whisks together one-third of a cup of peanut oil and the juice of two limes.
According to Park, anyone who can cook rice can cook it for a salad. No tricks or techniques are required. For that matter, rice doesn't even have to be cooked specially for a salad. "Leftover rice is just fine," said Park.
But one could also cook the particular kind of rice that matches the salad's style.
