Roast cherry and black rice salad
2 - Lunch, Salad
Ingredients
100g black rice
Salt and black pepper
500g fresh cherries
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp white balsamic vinegar (or sherry or moscatel vinegar)
40g parsley leaves, finely chopped, plus 1 handful extra leaves to serve
3⅓ tbsp (5g) mint leaves, finely chopped, plus a handful extra to serve
1 tbsp lemon juice
20g shelled walnuts, lightly toasted and roughly chopped
40g pecorino, thinly shaved
For the dressing
1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
2 tbsp olive oil
⅛ tsp ground allspice
⅛ tsp ground cinnamon
Description
Cherries are wonderful at this time of year, and roasting them is a great way to bring out their sweet, spicy and nutty notes that work so beautifully with black rice. It is worth investing in a bottle of white balsamic vinegar for this - it goes beautifully with any roast summer fruit – though sherry or moscatel vinegar would work just as well, if need be. And if you like, swap the black rice for black barley, if you can find it, and cook it according to the packet instructions.
Prep 30 min
Soak 1 hr
Cook 1 hr 10 min
Directions
Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7. Put the rice in a medium saucepan, cover with plenty of water, bring to a boil and cook on a medium heat for 35 minutes. Add a quarter-teaspoon of salt, cook for five minutes more, until the rice is cooked but still has a slight bite, then drain and transfer to a large bowl.
Meanwhile, wash and pit the cherries, then cut them in half lengthways. Put the halved cherries in a large baking dish (about 34cm x 20cm) with the oil, a quarter-teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper, and toss to coat. Roast for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven, immediately drizzle with the vinegar, stir gently, taking care not to break up the cherries, and set aside to cool.
To make the dressing, put all the ingredients in the small bowl of a food processor, add 50g of the cooled, roast cherries and a good pinch each of salt and pepper, then blitz smooth.
Put half the remaining roast cherries and half their cooking juices in the bowl with the rice, add the parsley, mint and half the dressing, and toss gently to combine. Spoon this on to a large platter and top with the remaining cherries and cooking juices. Drizzle over the remaining dressing and the lemon juice, then scatter over the walnuts, half the pecorino and the picked leaves, and serve with the extra pecorino alongside.
Notes
Yotam Ottolenghi’s Cooling Summer Salads