Herby Rice with Grapes and Pecans

break so far has been glorious. my days consist of:

• lots of baking/cooking
• $30 sushi lunches (because the birthday girl NEEDED another worthless toy, and you can only get toys every 15 plates of sushi, and i couldn’t convince her that we really didn’t need more sushi sigh)
• last minute disney trip contemplations (but i ended up not bc i’m in socal 3/4 of the time anyways, so why should i go back down when i’m finally home?)
• working out (shocking bc i haven’t worked out this much in a whileeee)
• being extremely grateful that i can drive places instead of relying on slow, late and packed buses (it’s great being able to go on a 20 minute target run, instead of a 2 hour one)
• thinking maybe i should balance the coconut espresso cake, yaki manju, macadamia nut shortbread and chocolate peanut butter cupcakes with something a bit healthier, like this herby rice with grapes and pecans

this herby rice with grapes and pecans has a bunch of different flavors and textures, like all my favorite salads. there’s the slight chew from the rice, juicy crisp grapes, freshness from the herbs, crunchy nuts, a touch of heat from the hot sauce (my preferred hot sauce is chili garlic sauce though i did use sambal olek in the batch pictured here), and creamy briny feta (not pictured here but delicious with this nonetheless). perfect for make ahead lunches, perfect for a potluck side dish.

1 year ago: Coffee Almond Shortbread Cookies, Pumpkin Spice Waffles
2 years ago: Zha Jiang Mian, Vanilla Coconut Quinoa Pudding
3 years ago: Applesauce Granola

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Herby Rice with Grapes and Pecans

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

30 mins

Total Time

50 mins

 

This herby rice with grapes and pecans features fresh herbs, so make sure you pick ones that you love!

Course: Lunch, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings: 7 people

Calories: 426 kcal

Ingredients

• 1-2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 T finely grated lemon zest
• 6 T lemon juice
• 1 T maple syrup or honey or agave
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• hot sauce ie sambal olek, chili garlic sauce to taste (optional)
• 2 cups rice cooked
• 6 green onions finely chopped
• 1/2 cup parsley leaves finely chopped (sub in cilantro or basil, or omit if you don’t like parsley)
• 1/4 cup mint leaves finely chopped
• 2 cups grapes halved
• 1/4 cup feta crumbled
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans toasted (or walnuts, almonds, cashews, etc)

Instructions

1. Whisk the garlic, lemon zest and juice and syrup in a large bowl. Whisk in oil and hot sauce, if using.
2. Add the rice, herbs, grapes and feta, stirring gently until well combined. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Cover tightly and chill well before serving. Serve at room temperature. Stir in the nuts right before serving.

Recipe Notes

Adapted slightly from Mollie Katzen’s The Heart of the Plate.