Fresh parsley is one of my favorite salad ingredients. It adds both flavor and crunch, not to mention a lovely dark-hued green color. Though it may not sound appealing, cold rice salad is an ideal meal on a hot summer day. This is a vegetarian version, but you can easily add shrimp, chicken or any other kind of seafood. The crushed almonds are optional, but do add a nice texture.

salad:

1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 bunch parsley
1 celery stalk

dressing:

1 lemon
3 Tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the rice in a rice cooker or in a pot on the stove. Either way, use twice the amount of water as rice. In this instance, you need 2 cups water.

Dice the celery. Crush the almonds, or chop them finely.

Chop the parsley, making sure to remove any stems.

Combine all the ingredients for the dressing.

When the rice is cooked, allow to cool in the refrigerator for about one hour, or until chilled.

Right before serving, toss the rice with the celery, almonds and parsley. Drizzle with the dressing and serve at once.

Tips:

The easiest way to chop parsley is to rinse it off, then pull the crowns off the larger stems. Place the parsley crowns in a big cup, then use a pair of scissors to chop the parsley finely, inside the cup.

If you'd like to add shrimp to this recipe, simply boil or sauté them and add them in at the end. Also, instead of using fresh parsley, use an equal amount of chopped fresh dill.

Wild rice would also work in this recipe, but for a light, summertime dish, I think white arborio works the best.