Puffed Carolina Gold Rice Salad with Creamy Chili and Herb Vinaigrette

Puffed Rice
1 cup dried Carolina gold rice
2 cups water
2 teaspoons of kosher salt
Corn starch (about 2 Tablespoons, or enough to fully coat the cooked rice)

To start, prepare your rice. Place rice, water and salt into a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and continue cooking until the rice is tender. Remove from heat, and turn out onto a parchment paper lined sheet tray.

Allow the rice to cool completely. Then, toss the rice in corn starch, and place your tray in an oven overnight to dry out the rice.

Once the rice is dried out, sift the excess corn starch from it. Deep fry at 375 degrees F until puffed. The rice is ready when it floats to the top of the oil. When you lift the rice out of the oil, let excess oil drain off before moving it to your dish to season. Season while the rice is warm. You can toss in any seasonings that you like. We use dried scallion powder and salt when we make this dish in the Dogwood.

Chili and Herb Vinaigrette (or Pickled Pepper Vinaigrette)
For 1 quart
1 ½ cups merlot vinegar
3 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
3 whole eggs
1 heaping spoonful pickled peppers
1 heaping spoonful Dijon mustard
5-7 sprigs thyme
3 cups (approximately) canned olive oil
Salt to taste

Soak the garlic in merlot vinegar to remove some of the raw “bite”. Do this at the beginning of prep to allow time for it to sit for a little while. Place vinegar, garlic, eggs, peppers, Dijon and thyme in a Vitamix blender head, and blend until smooth. While blending on speed 5, stream in the oil until emulsified and thick, like a mayonnaise consistency. Add a small amount of salt to heighten taste. Note that you can add more salt when the salad is mixed.

For the Salad
To finish, create your salad. You can adjust what is in your salad based on what’s in season and what you like. Create a balance of flavor with fresh vegetables, pickled vegetables, salty bacon and the crunch of the puffed rice. We love making this salad with baby romaine lettuce, watermelon radishes, breakfast radishes, pickled celery, and a poached egg. And of course, we love to add some Benton’s bacon.

Brush the vinaigrette dressing over your romaine wedge. Cut up your vegetables and bacon, and place them over the wedge. Add the pickled celery. Cut your poached egg, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste, and add it to your plate. Finally, sprinkle your puffed rice on top to add a delicious crunch.

Watch the In the Kitchen video to see how it's made!