Herbed rice salad with sour cherries

Difficulty: Easy

Serves: 6 at home or 30 tastes in the classroom

Fresh from the garden:  onions, parsley, basil, tarragon, rocket, lemon, garlic

Source: Adapted from a recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty More

• metric measuring spoons & cups
• chopping boards & non-slip mats
• 1 medium knife
• medium bowl
• 3 medium saucepans
• tea towel
• Colander
• fine sieve
• kitchen paper
• large non-stick frying pan
• small frying pan
• egg-flip or spatula
• garlic crusher
• juicer
• zester
• slotted spoon
• serving plates

• 150 g wild rice
• 220 g basmati rice
• 80 ml olive oil
• 100 quinoa
•  60 g almonds or sunflower seeds
• 60 ml canola oil
• 2 medium onions
• 30 g parsley leaves
• 20 g basil leaves
• 10 g tarragon leaves
• 40 g rocket
• 80 g sour cherries
• 60 ml lemon juice, plus grated zest of 1 lemon
• 2 cloves garlic
• Freshly ground black pepper

• Set out your ingredients.
• Place the wild rice in a saucepan, cover with plenty of water, bring to a boil, and then turn down to a gentle simmer and cook for 35 minutes, until the rice is cooked but still firm.  Drain, rinse under cold water, and set aside to dry.
• Mix the basmati rice with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and ½ teaspoon of salt.  Place in a saucepan with 330 ml of boiling water, cover and cook over the lowest possible heat for 15 minutes.  Remove from the heat, place a tea towel over the pan, replace the lid, and set aside for 10 minutes.  Uncover and allow to cool down completely.
• Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil and add the quinoa.  Cook for 9 minutes, then drain into a fine sieve, refresh under cold water, and set aside.
• Place the nuts or seeds in a small pan with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.  Transfer to a small plate as soon as they begin to colour and set aside.
• Heat the canola oil in a large frying pan and add the onions, ¼ teaspoon of sea salt and some black pepper.  Cook over high heat for 5 – 8 minutes, stirring often, so that parts of the onion get crisp and others just soft.  Transfer to kitchen paper to drain.
• Crush the garlic and set aside.
• Roughly chop the basil, parsley and tarragon leaves.
• Chop the sour cherries.
• Place all the grains in a large bowl along with the chopped herbs, rocket, fried onion, nuts or seeds, and sour cherries.  Add the lemon juice and zest, the remaining 3 ½ tablespoons olive oil, the garlic, ½ sea salt and some black pepper.  Mix well and set aside for at least 10 minutes before serving.