
This easy to make salad is a delicious alternative to potato or pasta salad. The addition of fresh vegetables and tangy feta cheese and salad dressing make it the perfect side dish for summer grilling, picnics and pot lucks.
Add two cups of water to the medium-sized pot. Cover the pot with the lid and bring the water to a boil over medium high heat on the stove.
Add one cup of rice and several shakes of salt to the boiling water.
Cover the pot with the lid and lower the heat to medium. (I like to vent the pot so that the pot won't boil over.)
Occasionally check and stir the rice. Once all of the water has been absorbed, remove the rice pot from the heat.
Open, drain and rinse the can of black beans.
Chop tomatoes, celery and green onions.
Chop the fresh cilantro or parsley.
Measure out Italian salad dressing.
After the rice has slightly cooled, dump it into a large serving bowl.
Add the rinsed and drained black beans.
Add the chopped tomatoes, celery and green onions.
Add the Italian salad dressing and mix.
Add the feta cheese and optional cilantro or parsley.
Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to serve.
As this salad is best served chilled, make sure you allow for ample refrigeration time if you are serving it the same day it is made.