Brown Rice Salad

And we meet again! However, for this week's escapades, I unite my love for 'all things rice' with 'all things bacon!' The dish I plan on sharing today, while slightly more involved, is one that I got from Alton Brown. He is superb!

However, since my anecdotes are assumingly so well-received and requested at that, I will share another brief one. Ever since I was a little kid, I have adored rice- white, fried, brown, you name it. Unfortunately... (and here comes the portion of my blog where I give a brief nutritional 411 and borderline share too much information while doing so...), rice, along with most other carbohydrates, are known to bind the gastro-intestinal tract- in other words, "sit like 'glue' in your intestines"- or, in fewer words, CONSTIPATE! yes, I said it! It's a fact of life (not the stellar television program!) people, and a very important part being that it regards one's relative comfort. Anyhow, I have digressed from my amazing story about my love for rice...so, since I was little I loved rice (particularly white rice out of convenience and accessibility) but I, more often than not, ran into the ungodly trouble of the aforementioned problema!!! So, as I became older and wiser, I learned that brown rice, which is basically white rice in it's more natural state, contains more fiber. Thus, the GI tract is given some RELIEF from influx of bagels and bread and pasta and, well you get the point....

So, in my whirwind of a journey towards more healthful food choices, I always make a conscious effort to choose brown rice when given the choice, so as not to fall into a "bound" situation.

I was pleasantly delighted to stumble upon Alton Brown's extremely tasty take on brown rice, since I usually just enjoy it plainly. So, check it out...it has bacon...it can, therefore, undeniably be great! Sorry vegetarians, sit this one out!

Brown Rice Salad:
6 slices bacon
1/2 cup diced red onion
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus a pinch
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 recipe Baked Brown Rice, recipe follows
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

In a 10-inch saute pan over medium heat, fry the bacon until crisp. Drain, crumble, and set aside. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat.
Add the red onion to the pan and cook until translucent, approximately 5 to 6 minutes. Add the vinegar, chicken broth, mustard, sugar, salt, and pepper to the pan and stir to combine. Add the bacon back to the pan along with the rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is absorbed, approximately 7 to 10 minutes. Stir in the dill. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Baked Brown Rice:
1 1/2 cups brown rice, medium or short grain
2 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Place the rice into an 8-inch square glass baking dish.
Bring the water, butter, and salt just to a boil in a kettle or covered saucepan. Once the water boils, pour it over the rice, stir to combine, and cover the dish tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, remove cover and fluff the rice with a fork. Serve immediately

And there you have it. I was initially turned onto this recipe (other than the bacon and rice, obviously) due to the use of dijon mustard. Now, I think it says a lot being that I am one who would NEVER (and anyone who knows my food habits can vouch for me) use mustard as a normal condiment on anything! However, this dish used just enough to 'kick it up a notch' without overpowering the overall flavor with mustard. So, don't be "scurrrrred" by the "mustuuuurd!"

Enjoy it!