Rainbow Brown Rice Salad with Shrimps
Rainbow Brown Rice Salad with Shrimps is way too healthy to taste as good as it does! This recipe has everything you expect from a salad. (fresh, nutritious, filling, healthy and DELI!)
A touch of sweet and sour that the dry cranberries provide along with the salty ingredients, plus the crunchiness of the hazelnuts, and fresh herbs, makes this recipe a perfect match for any gathering.
If you are looking for ideas supporting your resolution on wanting to eat better. My friend, this recipe can be part of your menu. 🙌
Ingredients in Rainbow Brown Rice Salad with Shrimp
Brown rice – Provides many vitamins and minerals and it is a good source of fiber. Good for the health of our digestive system. *Below the ingredients session you will find the steps on how to make brown rice. Instead of rice, you can also use quinoa, couscous o farro.
Red onion – Chop it in squares. You also can replace it for white onion.
Yellow pepper – Cut it in squares. You also can use orange or red pepper.
Garlic – One clove will be enough to flavor our Rainbow Brown Rice Salad with Shrimp.
Mushrooms – For this recipe I used organic portobella but you can also use white mushrooms. I cut them in small squares.
Hazelnuts – The main ingredient for crunchiness and give a boost of vitamin E among and antioxidants.
Shrimps – I used Argentine Shrimps. They are juicy, wild caught, no antibiotics, no genetic modification. However you can use the ones of your preference or you can also omit the shrimps. The hazelnuts and mushrooms will be the protein you need for your dish.
Cranberries- I put in my salad the 50% reduced sugar cranberries.
Mint and parsley – Give some freshness to this salad and bring balance to the other flavors.
How to make the Rainbow Brown Rice Salad with Shrimp?
This recipe starts with cooking the brown rice. I know this part could be tricky for some of you. What I am here to tell you that it’s actually easy to make. Once you get the right measurements on water and salt and oil, it will be ready to go!
To cook a soft, tender and well tasting BROWN RICE, you need to keep in mind these tips:
- For one cup of rice, you will need two cups of water. Put the rice with the water on the stove on medium heat.
- 1 and 1/4 teaspoon of salt would be good for a cup of rice for me, but this will always be at your taste. Just keep in mind that brown rice has much more flavor than white rice. So if you put salt in the brown rice like you were cooking white rice, it would taste too salty.
- When the liquid of the rice simmers, pour 1 tbsp of olive oil (or any other oil of your preference). Cover with the lid. Turn the heat low and cook until you see the brown rice looks soft.
- Sauteed the red onions, yellow pepper, oregano or thyme, black pepper and garlic to let the juices of these ingredients loose.
2. Add the mushrooms to the skillet with the veggies and sautee for 5 minutes in low/medium heat.
3. In a skillet, add olive oil and sautee the shrimps with some salt and back pepper for about 3-4 minutes on each side or until the shrimp are pink and cooked through.
4. In a bowl, toss the hazelnuts, brown rice, mushroom mixture, cranberries, mint and parsley.
5. Add the shrimps and mix all the ingredients slowly.
6. Make the dressing for your Rainbow Brown Rice Salad with Shrimps. This dressing has:
- Olive oil
- Balsamic
- Pepper
- Salt
- Honey
Rainbow Brown Rice Salad with Shrimps
Ingredients
- 1 yellow pepper
- 1 red onion
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove
- ¼ tsp dry oregano
- ½ tbs black pepper
- 226 g mushrooms chopped
- 1 cup hazelnuts optional
- 1½ lb shrimp peeled and deveined
- 45 g dried cranberries I used cranberries 50% less sugar
- 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint
- 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
balsamic dressing
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp balsamic
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 oz honey
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a pot, combine the brown rice, water and salt. Bring to simmer and pour 1 tbsp of oil cover it with a lid, then reduce the heat to low and cook for about 30-35 minutes or until you see that the brown rice looks soft.
- while the rice is cooking, chop the yellow pepper, red onion, black pepper, some spices (oregano or thyme) and garlic. Then, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a saucepan and pour in your chopped veggies. Add the mushrooms and salt. Let cook until the juices of the mushrooms cook out.
- In a different bowl, saute the shrimps in 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side or until shrimps are pink and cooked through.
- In a bowl, toss the hazelnuts, brown rice, mushrooms mixture, cranberries mint and parsley.
- Add the shrimps and mix all the ingredients together slowly.
- Serve and enjoy your dish!
Balsamic Dressing
- whisk vigorously in a bowl, the olive oil, balsamic, salt, black pepper and honey and set aside to enjoy it with your Rainbow Brown Rice Salad with Shrimps!