OK, I admit, I made this with brown basmati rice and toasted walnuts because I did not have red Camargue rice and I had to get rid of some walnuts that were a bit past their prime… Regardless, the results are a delicious salad, perfect for lunch, with the acidity of the barberries, and the sweetness of the orange and honey dressing, the crunch of the nuts and the bite from the rice.  Another one that even children like, because anything with rice tends to be a child’s favourite.

In this salad, grill the vegetables whenever you like, then make the rice in the TM steaming basket for 40 min, dress the rice and then assemble.

This recipe is from Sabrina Ghayour’s Persiana and it serves 6 people as a main course.

250g red Camargue Rice

2 handfuls of dried barberries (find them in Arab and Middle Eastern shops)

1 red onion

olive oil

salt, pepper

juice of 1/2 orange

2 tbsp clear honey

3 tbsp red whine vinegar

2 courgettes sliced lengthways about 5mm thick

1 large aubergine in 1 cm slices

300g roasted red peppers in oil, drained and roughly cut

40g flat leaf parsley

100g blanched whole almonds toasted

1. Cut onion in half and drop in the bowl, chop 3 seconds on speed 5. Check for any large pieces, brush down with the spatula and do a couple more seconds at speed 5 if necessary. Put aside.
2. Put all parsley leaves in TM bowl, speed 7 about 8 seconds. Check, brush down any large pieces and do another couple of seconds speed 7 if necessary. Put to one side. No need to rinse the TM bowl after.
3. Place the rice in your steaming basket, hook the spatula, and rinse under running water. Then put baked in the TM bowl and pour about 1.5l of boiling water, ensuring you have about 2 fingers of water at the bottom of the basket.  Add salt to taste and cook for 40 minutes, Varoma, speed 2.
4. Meanwhile, you can make the vegetables. Brush the aubergine with olive oil, generously, and grill on a griddle about 8 minutes. Brush the courgette with a little less oil and grill for about 4 minutes. I leave them in a warm oven if I am working in batches.
5. Make your dressing by combining the orange juice, honey and vinegar.  When the rice is finished, put it in a large bowl, and add the dressing, the barberries, onions and generous pepper and salt to taste.  Do it whilst the rice is warm for it to take in all the flavours. Set aside.
6. When ready to serve, cut the aubergines in cubes and the courgettes in large pieces, mix along with the pepper, with the rice, sprinkle the parsley and nuts and serve.