Cuban Weeknight Rice and Herb Salad with Yogurt Dressing

About This Recipe

This salad borrows the bright herb-and-citrus finish common in Cuban cooking - cilantro, lime, garlic - and applies it to a cold rice salad, a practical way to use up leftover white rice from another meal. A garlicky yogurt dressing stands in for a heavier mayonnaise-based dressing, keeping things light while still creamy enough to coat every grain. The trick to a good grain salad is texture contrast: the rice should be cold and separate, not clumped, and the vegetables should stay crisp rather than wilted, which means adding the dressing and delicate herbs only right before serving.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 3 cupscooked white rice(cold)
• 0.5 cupplain yogurt
• 2 tbspolive oil
• 2 tbsplime juice
• 2 clovesgarlic(grated)
• 1cucumber(diced)
• 1tomato(seeded and diced)
• 0.25 cupred onion(finely diced)
• 0.5 cupcilantro(chopped)
• 0.25 cupfresh mint(chopped)
• 1 tspfine sea salt

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the dressing

   Whisk together yogurt, olive oil, lime juice, garlic and salt in a small bowl until smooth.

2. 2

   Fluff the rice

   Break up cold rice with a fork so the grains separate; if it's very clumped, run it briefly under a fork or your fingers to loosen.

3. 3

   Combine the vegetables

   In a large bowl, toss the rice with cucumber, tomato and red onion.

4. 4

   Dress and finish

   Pour the yogurt dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Fold in cilantro and mint right before serving.

   Add the herbs at the very end - tossed in early, they wilt and turn the salad an unappetizing dull green.

Variations

• •

  Add cooked shredded chicken or shrimp for a more filling main-dish salad.

• •

  Swap yogurt for a garlic-lime mojo dressing for a more traditionally Cuban flavor profile.

• •

  Use black beans in place of some of the rice for extra protein and fiber.

Storage

Refrigerate undressed components separately up to 3 days; once dressed, the salad is best eaten within a few hours as the rice absorbs the dressing and softens.

Frequently Asked Questions