Recipes: Sprouted Forbidden Rice Salad with Well & Full

Posted by Claire Ragozzino

One of the greatest parts of food blogging is being able to connect with incredible artisans, makers and culinary creators from around the world.  And if there’s one thing I’ve seen in this community – there are some seriously talented women out there shaping the way we eat, think, and feel about food!  This year, I decided to launch a new series on the Vidya blog to highlight some of the kitchen goddesses out there who inspire me each day with their ingenuity of ingredients and artful presentation of nourishing cuisine.  This monthly “Seasonal Recipe Share” series will give us a peek inside each bloggers home recipe box and the many ways they each connect with their health through seasonal eating and living.

This month I’m grateful to have Sarah Aldrich of Well & Full on the blog to share her fall recipe for this gorgeous Sprouted Forbidden Rice Salad. Her work over at Well & Full is earthy and satisfying, using simple, whole food ingredients to create the most comforting meals (can we talk about these kimchi quesadillas! or this cinnamon chai banana bread?) – yes please! Welcome Sarah…

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Hello there! Sarah here, from Well and Full. When Claire reached out to me to do a feature for her “Seasonal Recipe Share” on Vidya Living, I couldn’t have been more excited! As a yoga teacher in training myself, I constantly look to Vidya for inspiration – not only for recipes, but for living mindfully and with intention.

It is in the spirit of mindfulness that I present this recipe today. Eating seasonally was not a concept I was familiar with growing up – everything was, and still is, available in grocery stores year-round. It wasn’t until I was older when I realized that the produce of the season gives your body exactly what it needs for that time of year. Luscious, watery, juicy fruits growing in summer, giving you essential hydration. Comforting, filling, earthy vegetables harvested in fall and winter, preparing your body for the cold ahead. Nature knows what our bodies truly need, and I’m really blown away by the bio-entanglement with which we live on earth.

 
When the brisk mornings and chilly evenings of autumn present themselves, I start to crave comforting grains – warming spices – filling nuts and seeds. This warm sprouted rice salad has all of these things, with a few green garnishes to keep things fresh and healthy. Sunflower seeds are toasted with black pepper, lending satisfying crunch and just a bit of heat, while the forbidden rice is similarly nutty and earthy. Then everything’s tossed with shoyu, a fermented Japanese soy sauce that’s full of umami and a hint of sweetness. 

SPROUTED FORBIDDEN RICE SALAD

Black Pepper Sunflower Seeds
½ cup sunflower seeds
Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp black pepper
Salt to taste

Mix ½ cup sunflower seeds, a drizzle of olive oil, and ½ tsp black pepper in a bowl, until evenly coated. Salt to taste. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, broil sunflower seeds in the oven for about 3-4 minutes, or until slightly browned. Keep an eye on the seeds to ensure they don’t burn! Remove from heat, set aside until ready to use. 

Salad
1 cup Forbidden Rice, soaked overnight
2 cups chickpeas, cooked
½ cup parsley, chopped
½ cup scallions, chopped
¼ cup shoyu
Optional: handful sprouts

Add soaked forbidden rice to a pot with 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer, cooking for about 25-30 minutes. Once all water is absorbed, take off heat and let rice remained covered for about 10 minutes. In a bowl, combine rice, chickpeas, parlsey, and scallions. Add ¼ cup shoyu and mix well. Finally, add the sunflower seeds. ​Serve salad warm, with sprouts for garnish. Enjoy!

Makes 2-4 servings