Salade Andalouse

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •3-quart saucepan
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •33 x 23 cm (13 x 9 inch) rimmed baking sheet
• •Wide mixing bowl
• •Sharp chef's knife

Instructions

1. 1

   Rinse and blanch

   Rinse the rice in a fine-mesh sieve under cold running water, moving the grains gently with your fingers, until the water runs nearly clear. Leave it to drain. Bring the measured water to a full boil in a saucepan. Cut a shallow cross in the base of each tomato, lower them into the boiling water for 20 to 30 seconds, and remove them as soon as the skins begin to loosen. Cool them under cold water. Return the saucepan to the boil and add 2 teaspoons of the salt.

2. 2

   Boil rice plainly

   Rain the drained rice into the boiling salted water and stir once to prevent it settling on the bottom. Boil uncovered for 10 to 12 minutes, beginning to taste at 9 minutes. A finished grain should be tender through, with no chalky centre, but it must retain its shape. Drain it immediately. If the grains merely cling, ça se rattrape: rinse them very briefly under cold water, drain thoroughly, and spread them out at once. If they have split and collapsed into paste, no rinse can rebuild them; begin a fresh batch, because separate rice is the dish.

   Rinsing before cooking removes loose surface starch. Abundant boiling water then gives each grain room to move, which is why this method suits a cold rice salad better than absorption cooking.
3. 3

   Cool grains quickly

   Shake the sieve well, then spread the rice in a thin layer across a rimmed baking sheet. Lift and separate the grains once with a fork, without pressing or raking them. Let the rice cool for 20 to 25 minutes. As soon as it is no longer warm, proceed with the salad or refrigerate it; cooked rice should not sit at room temperature for more than one hour.

4. 4

   Cut the vegetables

   Slip the loosened skins from the tomatoes, remove the firm cores, and quarter them. If they are exceptionally juicy, rest them cut-side down on a clean towel for 5 minutes, but do not squeeze them. Cut the mild capsicum julienne-fashion into match-shaped rods about 3 mm wide and 4 cm long. Chop the onion finely, crush the garlic to a smooth paste, and chop the parsley. The tomato quarters remain generous while the other flavorings are cut small enough to travel through every spoonful.

5. 5

   Compose the salad

   Turn the completely cooled rice into a wide mixing bowl. Add the tomato quarters, capsicum julienne, crushed garlic, chopped onion, and parsley. Fold everything together with two large spoons, lifting from beneath rather than stirring in circles. This keeps the tomato intact and prevents the rice from clapping together under pressure.

6. 6

   Season and settle

   Whisk the vinegar with the remaining ½ teaspoon salt until the salt dissolves, then whisk in the olive oil to make a loose vinaigrette. Pour it over the salad and fold gently until every grain carries a light sheen. Chill for 20 minutes, then taste again because cold softens both salt and acidity. If tomato juice has left liquid at the bottom, lift the salad into its serving bowl and leave the excess behind. Serve cool rather than icy. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose ordinary long-grain white rice, not Arborio, sushi rice, or another starch-heavy variety. Those grains are meant to embrace one another; the Salade Andalouse requires polite distance.
• •Use a genuinely mild fresh capsicum and cut it julienne-fashion. Roasted peppers or hot chiles change both the texture and the intended flavor, and the crisp raw rods are part of the composition.
• •Ripe fresh tomatoes give the cleanest result. When the market offers only hard, pale specimens, well-drained canned whole tomatoes are the classical pantry's honest answer; quarter them gently and accept that their texture will be softer.
• •For a potluck, carry the salad well chilled and keep it cold until shortly before serving. Let it stand for 15 minutes before the first spoonful so the olive oil loosens and the flavors wake up.

Advance Preparation

• •The rice can be cooked one day ahead. Cool it quickly on the baking sheet, refrigerate it within one hour, and keep it covered until needed.
• •The tomatoes and capsicum can be prepared up to 4 hours ahead and refrigerated separately. Keep the chopped parsley wrapped in a barely damp towel.
• •The completed salad can be dressed and chilled 2 to 4 hours before serving. Fold it once before it reaches the table, and serve it the same day for the freshest vegetables.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 315g)