Italian Rice salad

17 July 2024

A classic recipe for the summer months, this Italian rice salad is perfect when you need some fresh and healthy meal.

When the temperature rises nothing is more comforting than knowing you won’t need to spend time near the stove to prepare lunch or dinner. Rice salad is a staple summer dish that is consumed from north to south in Italy.

The quicker way to prepare this salad is using something called “condiriso“. Condiriso means condiment for rice. Even though you may think that a condiment is a kind of dressing, in this case we’re talking about a mix of boiled vegetables. Usually the vegetables are boiled in vinegary then preserved in oil. Some are pickled instead.

This mix contains bell peppers, capers, olives, artichokes, peas, corn, onion and cucumbers. You can find many brands and many different mix and they’re usually all good. Some are organic, the expensive ones are preserved in extra virgin olive oil, the cheaper in sunflower oil.

Growing up this recipe what always on the menu all summer, especially on day trips. Like tomatoes stuffed with rice, this recipe too was very common mainly because you can make it in no time and it keeps perfectly for days.

I remember lunches on the beach with my family and friends with all sorts of delicious food that included also this rice salad. And it is perfect for your lunch box!

How to serve rice salad?

Rice salad is a main dish (actually a full meal alone). You won’t serve it (in Italy at least) with a side or other dishes. If you are used to eat a multi-course meal rice can be what’s called a Primo (first) that can be followed by a side protein dish and a side.

Rice salad: a nice way to eat loads of veggies

Rice salads are a great way to add vegetables into your diet. In fact even picky eaters will certainly love the mix. For kids the best thing is that all veggies are cut into small cubes and they won’t find big chunks of vegetables. A good rice salad can count for up to three of your five-a-day. Moreover it brings diversity to your table. Eating a wide variety of vegetables helps our body and our microbiome.

Another advantage of this dish is that the amount of rice is reduced, so the calories (if you are a calorie counter or on a reduced carb diet) are fewer but fibers and vitamins are loads.

DID YOU KNOW…?
Rice and pasta when cooked and then cooled down undergo significant changes. Carbs are turned into resistant starches, AKA fibers. This means your rice will contain almost twice the amount of fibers that hot rice.

How to make homemade rice salad mix

Do you know you could be making your own condiriso at home in a few minutes? It can’t get much easer that this. Select your favorite vegetable and cut them into small cubes. I would use:

bell pepper (red and yellow)
zucchini (any summer squash will do)
peas
onions
green beans
celery
carrots

STEP 1
Bring some water to a boil in a pot that can contain all the vegetables and add a teaspoon of salt and 1/4cup vinegar
STEP 2
Boil the vegetables for 5/6 minutes, drain and rinse in cold water.

You can store the mix in the refrigerator for up to 5 days and use it base condiment. Then you can then add your favorite ingredients to make your own recipe.

Cultured rice salad mix

For a super healthy mix you could also culture your vegetables. In this case skip the boiling altogether. Chop the vegetables and put them into a big jar with water and salt (3gr of salt each 100ml of water

Vegan, vegetarian and gluten free

This recipe is perfect for everyone, the basic version is gluten free and vegan. Since you can create your own version, you won’t need special adjustments or ingredients.

Moreover, if you are vegetarian, you can still add some boiled eggs or cheese and omnivores can add tuna, salmon or ham. The recipe calls for mayonnaise but nowadays is quite common to find vegan mayonnaise everywhere.

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