Brown Rice Salad with Beetroot Relish

This is a lovely, crunchy, nutritious salad with Mediterranean flavours.  The beetroot relish also works well with grilled meats and burgers.  You can add any other vegetables you like to the salad, and the relish will last for 5 days, covered, in the fridge.

200g brown rice
1 red + 1 yellow pepper, cut into 2-3cm squares
2 tbsp toasted pine nuts
handful of flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
200g baby spinach, rinsed
extra virgin olive oil
relish:
2 large beetroot, roasted and peeled (or pre-cooked in natural juices and drained)
1 tbsp capers, rinsed and drained
handful of flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil

Blitz all relish ingredients together, leaving a little texture.

Cook the brown rice in a large pan of boiling water until tender.  Drain and return to pan with all other salad ingredients.  Stir well and add a little extra virgin olive oil.  Even if you are serving the salad cold, this step will soften the vegetables with the heat in the rice/pan.  Season with plenty of cracked black pepper.

Serve rice salad warm or room temperature with a spoonful of beetroot relish on top.

Serves 4.