Hello wednesday. In honor of spring springing in the northern hemisphere, and the weather not too cold yet in the Southern one, I bring to you anchovy wild rice salad. : )
This salad is pretty filling, so it can be eaten by itself, or with some light sides (steamed veggies etc). I think it would also make for a out-of-the-regular dish to bring to a get together.
And guess what? It’s effortless to make. All you have to do is steam the wild rice and let it cool. At the same time you can chop up the green pepper and the celery. Combine all of the ingredients and you are good to go. I like to use a good amount of olive oil, lemon juice and herbs, because it brings the whole salad alive.
As far as the anchovies go, you can use those ones in oil which comes in glass jars. Go sparingly on these, because they are super strong in flavor.
If there is a kid or two at the table, it might be best to portion some out for them before adding in the anchovies. Unless of course they like anchovies!
When I was about 8 years old my parents and I ended up in Spain for half a year. My Dad had delivered a boat there, and the the owner promptly decided to sort of disappear and not pay what he owed for the delivery service. In an effort to seek restitution, we spent an interesting time in the little town where the boat was delivered to, Denia.
As kids do I promptly made some new friends. One night the parents of my newfound playmates took me along to a restaurant for pizza. I scanned the menu and make out what Spanish I had in my limited repertoire. The word ‘anchovies’ sprung out at me, and I was convinced it meant ‘olives’ (my favorite food in the whole world as a kid!). When the waiter arrived, he asked us all what we wanted, and I said I would like the anchovy pizza, with double anchovies if that was possible. The dad tentatively asked me if I liked anchovies. To which I replied that they were my favorite food on earth.
Needless to say when the pizza arrived I was dismayed. Not one olive in sight! And lots of horrid little funny smelling salty things which looked very much like fishing bait.
To shy to say anything, I struggled my way through most of that pizza if I remember correctly. When I got home and told my Mom and Dad they felt my pain (knowing how excited I had been to go for pizza!) but I think had a good laugh about when I was out of earshot.
Needless, for a long time after I despised anchovies. But a few years ago I came around, and now I think they are great – even on pizza…. Just in the right quantity of course.
Anyways, hope you try out the salad dear reader, and enjoy it : ). Please do not hesitate to if you have any questions to put them in the comments.
: )
Anchovy Wild Rice Salad
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Ingredients
- 3-4 cups cooked wild rice
- 1/3 cup anchovies
- 2 sticks celery
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
- Fresh or dried thyme
- Handful fresh chives
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Cook your rice in accordance to the packet instructions, to make up 3-4 cups of cooked rice.
- While waiting for the rice to cool, chop up the green pepper and celery into thin slices, and dice the chives.
- Once the rice is cool, combine all ingredients and toss. I go easy on the salt, take a taste and then add another sprinkle if needed. Because the anchovies can be so salty, this seems the safest route.
Notes
A nice side to this would be something like steamed or roasted veggies, for a meatless monday style of meal.
