L’ Insalata di Riso

Ingredients:

• Arborio rice 300 g

• Drained tuna in oil 200 g

• Plum tomatoes 150 g

• Caciocavallo cheese 150 g

• Diced cooked ham 100 g

• Peas 80 g

• Red bell peppers 75 g

• Yellow bell peppers 75 g

• Pitted black olives 80 g

• Pickled gherkins 80 g

• Chives to your taste

• Fine salt to your taste

Nonna’s motto:

“After eating is good to sit and relax..”

Instructions:

To make the classic rice salad, place a pot of salted water on the heat. Once it comes to a boil, add the peas and blanch them for about 3 minutes. After draining the peas, pour the rice into the same water. Cook the rice for 2-3 minutes less than the cooking times indicated on the package. Meanwhile, prepare the dressing: wash the bell peppers, remove the stems, seeds, and inner filaments, slice them into strips, then into cubes, and place them in a large bowl where you'll gather all the other ingredients. Also, wash and halve the tomatoes, scoop out the pulp with a teaspoon, and cut them into cubes. Dice the cooked ham. Cube the caciocavallo cheese and slice the pickles and pitted olives. About 2-3 minutes before the rice is done, drain it and let it cool by spreading it on a well-chilled tray kept in the refrigerator to facilitate cooling. Flavor the dressing with chives cut into small rounds, add the peas and the now-cooled rice. Finally, incorporate the crumbled tuna fillets and the cooked ham, adjust the salt, and mix with a spoon. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve, ensuring it is well-chilled and the flavors have melded.