Serves 4 to 6
When my friend Silvia Baldini, a native of Turin, Italy, told me that a cold rice salad is a summertime staple in any Italian household, I knew I had to make it a staple in mine, too. Silvia is a chef living in Connecticut; she worked at Ottolenghi, the London restaurant behind the stunning book, Plenty, and she also competed and won on the reality cooking show Chopped, so I absolutely trust Silvia when it comes to all things cooking, especially Italian cooking. My rice salad is like an Italian antipasto platter reincarnated. Okay. So this may not be the healthiest salad in the book, but it is a healthy-ish way to enjoy an Italian antipasto salad, and that has to count for something.
1 cup long-grain brown rice, cooked and cooled to room temperature (see here; about 3½ cups cooked rice)
1 (6- to 8-ounce) jar olive oil–packed tuna
½ head radicchio, halved, cored, and shredded
1 (10- to 15-ounce) jar pepperoncini, stemmed and thinly sliced into rings
4 ounces thinly sliced salami, cut into ½-inch thick strips (optional)
Pepperoncini Vinaigrette (recipe follows)
1 cup fresh basil
1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
4 medium-boiled eggs (see here)
Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Put the rice in a big wide bowl. Crumble the tuna over the rice and add the radicchio, pepperoncini, and salami (if you’re using it). Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad and use scissors to snip the herbs over the bowl. Toss gently to combine the ingredients without breaking up the tuna any more than is inevitable. Lay the eggs on top of the salad and season them with salt and pepper.
Makes about 2 cups
½ cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup pepperoncini pickling juice (from a jar of pepperoncini)
1 medium or large shallot, minced
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1¼ cups extra-virgin olive oil
Combine the vinegar, pepperoncini pickling juice, shallot, salt, and several turns of pepper in a bowl and set aside for 5 to 10 minutes to soften the shallot. While whisking, slowly add the oil in a steady stream. The vinaigrette will keep, refrigerated, for up to 1 week.