Fruity Black Rice Salad With Cilantro, Avocado, and Pepitas in Chili-Orange Vinaigrette Recipe

Jennifer Olvera
Fruity Black Rice Salad With Cilantro, Avocado, and Pepitas in Chili-Orange Vinaigrette Recipe
*
  • Yield:Serves 6 to 8
  • Active time:15 minutes
  • Total time:45 minutes
This recipe appears in:
5 Grain Salads for Summer Summer Grain Salads: Fruity Black Rice Salad With Cilantro and Mango

A salad of cilantro-flecked black rice with mango, orange, avocado, red onion, and pepitas is tied together with chili-spiked orange vinaigrette. [Photograph: Jennifer Olvera]

This black rice salad is full of color: avocado and cilantro for a shock of green, mangoes, and oranges for some stark contrast, followed by a sprinkle of red onion and a shower of earthy, crunchy pepitas, all tied together with chili and cumin-spiked orange vinaigrette.

Note: Do not overcook the rice: You want it to stand up to the vinaigrette without turning into a soggy mess. Remove it from the heat right when it loses its bite.

Ingredients

  • For the Vinaigrette:
  • 1/4 cup fresh orange juice from 1 orange
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4 teaspoon ancho chili powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • For the Salad:
  • 2 cups cooked black rice (see note above)
  • 1/2 mango, diced
  • 1 avocado, diced
  • 1 orange, segmented
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
  • 1/3 cup pepitas, lightly toasted

Directions

  1. 1.

    For the Vinaigrette: Whisk together vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl, seasoning generously to taste with salt and pepper. Reserve.

  2. 2.

    For the Salad: Place rice in a large bowl. Add mango, avocado, orange, onion, and cilantro. Whisk vinaigrette again and add to rice a few tablespoons at a time, gently tossing salad, until dressed to taste; reserve additional vinaigrette for passing at the table. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if needed. Garnish with pepitas and serve.

Jennifer Olvera
Sunday Supper Columnist

Jennifer Olvera is the author of Food Lovers' Guide to Chicago, and she has all-but tested and developed recipes since toddlehood. She writes the Sunday Supper column for Serious Eats and regularly contributes food features to Chicago Sun-Times. She can often be found tending her garden, canning and traveling to far-flung destinations, where she writes about local edibles for pubs like Los Angeles Times and Frommers.com.

Filed Under
Show 3 Comments