Creamy Herb & Cucumber Rice Salad

Ingredients

For the Salad:
• 1 cup of uncooked long-grain white rice such as Basmati
• 2 cups of water
• 1 medium English cucumber, diced
• 1 cup of walnut pieces
• 1 heaping tablespoon of fresh chopped dill
• 1 heaping tablespoon of fresh chopped mint
• juice from 1/2 a lemon
For the Dressing:
• 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of tahini
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/8 teaspoon of pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, honey or agave
• juice from 1/2 a lemon

Method

1. Cook rice according to package instructions. Note: 1 cup of uncooked rice in two cups of water should yield 4 servings of cooked rice. Once rice has finished cooking, spread it onto a baking sheet and place in fridge for 10 minutes to cool.
2. While the rice is cooking, heat a small frying pan over medium heat. No need to add oil, as a dry pan toasts nuts perfectly. Add walnuts. While stirring every so often, toast the walnuts until fragrant and warmed through (about 5 minutes). Put aside.
3. To make the dressing, combine the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, tahini paste, sugar, salt, pepper and juice from half a lemon. Whisk well until nice and creamy.
4. In a large salad bowl, combine the cooled rice, toasted walnuts and diced cucumber. Sprinkle with fresh herbs. Drizzle salad with the dressing and mix well to combine. Finish the salad off by squeezing the other half of the lemon over the salad. Allow salad to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes to allow salad flavours to develop.