If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen that I was at a loss for what to do with my forbidden rice. And if you don’t follow me on Instagram, you should!
Either way, I finally took the time to play and it paid off. I actually had zero intention of doing recipe development today. My house has been kind of a disaster. The hubby and I have been shopping all the holiday deals and we have tons of packages sitting in the house. We have our new tv in the entryway, Pampered Chef items on the kitchen counter, and a table saw in the dining room. Yes, a table saw in the dining room.
When I say my house is a disaster, I emphasize the word disaster. So basically I’ve been trying to put this house back together. I was meaning to throw together a simple lunch in between dusting and throwing in some laundry. Cold pasta or rice salads are a favorite of mine. I was pretty pumped with the outcome so here I am sharing my recipe for Cranberry Goat Cheese Forbidden Rice. One taste and I whipped out my camera to capture a few shots!
Isn’t it the best when something accidentally turns into something awesome?!
When I say accident, I mean accident. I have nearly 10 varieties of rice in my cupboard which I’m trying to weed out. Also, there was a jar of leftover chickpeas and dried cranberries from other recipes sitting around. Lasty, I trimmed up my rosemary, leaving me with some extra killer herbs. Here we have what I call my hodge podge skillet. Just making a meal out of all the ingredients I want to get rid of.
This cold rice salad contains a few simple ingredients, fresh herbs, and homemade dressing. I’m pretty finicky about balsamic dressing but I could actually drink this stuff. I’m thinking of tossing this with some spinach, apples, and pecans later in the week! If you haven’t started making your own dressing, you should. It’s super easy and much better than the store-bought variety. Depending of how much dressing you make, I like to add the ingredients to my Blender Bottles or Go Stak containers. You can throw it in there and shake instead of whisking and mixing. These can be found in my shop section!
And did I mention it’s covered in goat cheese?!
Ugghhhh, my favorite.
You can’t lose with this salad. If you think this Cranberry Goat Cheese Forbidden Rice sounds good, it is. But don’t let the forbidden rice scare you away. I know it can be intimidating and hard to find. This salad would be just as delicious with some wild rice, Farro, or quinoa.
Furthermore, if you’re not throwing this together for a quick lunch, it makes a great side dish. The flavors are fresh and light, making it a perfect complement dish to your holiday gatherings. In addition to tasting great, you can prep this dish in advance. Cold salads tend to be better when they sit a day or two. Give that rosemary a chance to melt into the other flavors!
So let’s get cooking! Throwing this together for your holiday parties or taking it for lunch? Be sure to let me know by tagging a photo with #stephanieleenutrition on Instagram. I’d love to see what you all cook up. Happy eating!
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- 2 cups forbidden (black) rice (may substitute with other rice, farro, or quinoa)
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced (more for garnish)
- 1/8 cup olive oil
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained (AKA chickpeas)
- 1/3 cup fresh parsley
- 8 ounces goat cheese crumbles
- salt, to taste
- pepper, to taste
Ingredients
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- Cook rice according to package directions. Drain and transfer to a bowl to cool.
- While rice is cooking, prepare dressing. Whisk balsamic vinegar, mustard, rice vinegar, honey, garlic powder, and rosemary together in a bowl. Slowly add olive oil, whisking well. Set aside.
- Once rice has cooled, toss with cranberries, garbanzo beans, cranberries, parsley and goat cheese.
- Pour dressing over the top and toss well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with additional rosemary if desired. Serve cold.
