If you’ve ever been served red rice when you ordered brown at a Thai restaurant, chances are it was Bhutanese rice. This nutty, earthy, red-toned rice is as nutritious as brown rice but cooks in half the time and is a whole lot more interesting. Flageolet beans are a favorite in French cuisine, and their pale green hue makes them a beautiful companion to the red rice. If you can’t find flageolets, you can substitute cannellini beans or baby limas. Kombu is a type of seaweed that imparts minerals and helps break down the fiber in the beans.
Bhutanese Rice and Flageolet Bean Salad
If you’ve ever been served red rice when you ordered brown at a Thai restaurant, chances are it was Bhutanese rice. This nutty, earthy, red-toned rice is as nutritious as brown rice but cooks in half the time and is a whole lot more interesting. Flageolet beans are a favorite in French cuisine, and their pale green hue makes them a beautiful companion to the red rice. If you can’t find flageolets, you can substitute cannellini beans or baby limas. Kombu is a type of seaweed that imparts minerals and helps break down the fiber in the beans.
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried flageolet beans soaked overnight
- 3 cups water
- 1 6-inch strip kombu (optional)
- 1 cup Bhutanese red rice
- 1½ cups vegetable broth
- 1 bunch chard stemmed and chopped
- 1 small fennel bulb chopped
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
- ½ cup sunflower seeds
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Rinse and drain the beans and transfer to a large saucepan.
- Add the water and kombu and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the beans are tender.
- Discard the kombu and drain any excess water from the beans.
- Measure 1 cup of the beans for use in the salad, reserving any extra for another use.
- Meanwhile, combine the rice and broth in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Measure 1 cup of the rice for use in the salad, reserving any extra for another use.
- In a large bowl, combine the 1 cup beans, 1 cup rice, chard, fennel, parsley, and sunflower seeds.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, garlic, and salt.
- Drizzle over the salad and toss until well coated.
- Serve warm or cold.