Our healthier take on a traditional crispy rice salad, which is baked not fried, and avoids the sugar spike you can get from eating cooked rice straight away. Here’s the science bit: cooling the rice fully in the fridge changes the starches so it becomes a prebiotic food. Add the goodness you get from all the green veg and it’s definitely a dish your gut will thank you for.

Method: 

• Cook and cool the rice fully (it benefits from at least two hours in the fridge to completely cool).
• Preheat the oven to 180 °C/Gas mark 4.
• Mix the rice with the chilli sauce and oil. Arrange evenly across the roasting tray. Put the tray onto the top shelf in the oven and roast for 20-40 minutes, mixing once or twice during cooking. All ovens differ in actual temperature, so start checking after 20 minutes. If the rice isn’t crispy enough after this time, you can roast it for longer to get the crispiness you desire.
• As it cooks, make the dressing by whisking all the ingredients together.
• Halve the cucumbers lengthways and then thinly slice each half. Put into a large bowl with the dressing. Rinse the beans or peas under warm water, especially if using frozen as this will help them defrost. Add to the cucumber.
• Thinly slice the spring onions. Rinse under warm water (to soften the flavour) and then add to the cucumber and beans. Cut the avocado into bite-sized pieces and add it to the other vegetables.
• Gently fold everything through the dressing.
• Finely chop the herbs. Once the rice is cooked and crispy, mix into the dressed veg. Add the chopped herbs and top with the nuts or seeds.

Recipe extracted from Salads for Good by Cook for Good, on sale now

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