Bhutanese Rice and Flageolet Bean Salad
If you’ve ever been served red rice when you ordered brown at a Thai restaurant, chances are it was Bhutanese rice. This nutty, earthy, red-toned rice is as nutritious as brown rice but cooks in half the time and is a whole lot more interesting. Flageolet beans are a favorite in French cuisine, and their pale green hue makes them a beautiful companion to the red rice. If you can’t find flageolets, you can substitute cannellini beans or baby limas. Kombu is a type of seaweed that imparts minerals and helps break down the fiber in the beans.
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried flageolet beans soaked overnight
- 3 cups water
- 1 6-inch strip kombu (optional)
- 1 cup Bhutanese red rice
- 1½ cups vegetable broth
- 1 bunch chard stemmed and chopped
- 1 small fennel bulb chopped
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
- ½ cup sunflower seeds
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Rinse and drain the beans and transfer to a large saucepan.
- Add the water and kombu and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the beans are tender.
- Discard the kombu and drain any excess water from the beans.
- Measure 1 cup of the beans for use in the salad, reserving any extra for another use.
- Meanwhile, combine the rice and broth in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Measure 1 cup of the rice for use in the salad, reserving any extra for another use.
- In a large bowl, combine the 1 cup beans, 1 cup rice, chard, fennel, parsley, and sunflower seeds.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, garlic, and salt.
- Drizzle over the salad and toss until well coated.
- Serve warm or cold.