This one-bowl meal is also perfectly seasoned with blue zones staples like turmeric, olive oil, and parsley. Filled with Mediterranean flavors, this salad is easy to whip up with fresh or leftover rice. Either way, cooling rice after cooking promotes health by increasing the amount of resistant starch it contains. (Resistant starch is a carbohydrate that resists digestion in the small intestine, like fiber. Instead, it ferments in the large intestine like a prebiotic and feeds good bacteria in the gut.)
This recipe is adapted from An Apple a Day, Vegetarian Cookery by Doctor’s Wives, the cookbook series that has been in print for over 100 years by the National Auxiliary of Loma Linda University.
Fun fact: Marge Jetton was the president of the National Auxiliary in 1957-1958.
1/8 teaspoon turmeric
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 Persian cucumbers, sliced or diced
1⁄2 red bell pepper, cored and sliced or diced
3 black pitted olives, diced
2 teaspoons pine nuts (or substitute other chopped nuts)
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced
1 cup cooked brown rice
In a large bowl, whisk together the turmeric, salt, lemon juice, and olive oil.
Add all the other ingredients except for rice to the bowl and mix well with the dressing until coated.
Add the rice and toss to combine well.
If using just-cooked rice, chill the salad in refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours before serving.
The Blue Zones Kitchen fuses scientific reporting, National Geographic photography and 100 recipes that may help you live to 100. The Blue Zones’ food tradition is going the way of the dodo bird, thanks to the encroachment of the American Food Culture.
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