Confetti Rice Salad (Recipe)

Ingredients

2/3 cup long grain rice

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons snipped parsley

1 to 2 tablespoons snipped fresh dill

1/2 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel

2 tablespoons lemon juice

 2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 cup finely chopped yellow summer squash

1 cup small broccoli flowerets

3 radishes, thinly sliced

1 green onion, thinly sliced

Steps

1. In a small saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups water, the rice and salt.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low.  Cover and cook for 20 minutes.

2. Transfer the cooked rice to a sieve.  Rinse the rice under cold water.  Drain and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, stir together the parsley, dill, lemon peel, lemon juice, the 2 tablespoons water, the olive oil, Dijon-style mustard and pepper.

4. Add the rice, yellow summer squash, broccoli, radishes and green onion.  Toss until the mixture is well coated.  Cover and chill for 4 to 24 hours, stirring occasionally.

Tips:

For a change, substitute halved cherry tomatoes or chopped red sweet pepper for the radishes.  Or, replace part of the yellow summer squash with chopped yellow sweet peppers.

If fresh dill isn't available, you can use 1 to 2 teaspoons dried dillweed.

To make fun and attractive individual serving bowls, wash and remove the stems and seeds from 3 large or 6 small green, red or yellow sweet peppers.  Cut the larger peppers in half lengthwise.  Spoon in the salad.

If desired, blanch the broccoli before adding it to the salad.  Blanching makes the broccoli more tender and brings out the bright green color.

To get flowerets, trim the leaves from the broccoli and wash it under cold, running water.  Cut off just the flowerets with a sharp knife.  Reserve the stalks to use later in soups and casseroles.

From : America's Best-Loved Community Recipes