Rice salad with sausages

I can provide you with a recipe for rice salad enriched with sausages. Here is an Italian variant of the dish that is quite common in the summer period, especially during picnics or packed lunches. Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

• 300 g of salad rice (such as Arborio, Vialone Nano, or parboiled rice)
• 200 g of sausages
• 150 g of fresh or frozen peas
• 2 ripe tomatoes
• 100 g of diced cheese (fontina or provola)
• 50 g of pitted green olives
• Salt to taste
• Extra virgin olive oil to taste
• White vinegar or lemon juice (optional)
• Fresh herbs for garnish, such as parsley or basil

Preparation

1. Begin by cooking the peas, if fresh, blanching them in salted water until they are soft but still crunchy. If the peas are frozen, they can be added directly at the end of the rice cooking time.
2. For the rice, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the rice following the instructions on the package to keep it al dente. Then drain and cool it quickly under cold running water and drain very well again.
3. While the rice cools, cut the sausages into rounds or cubes, depending on your preference.
4. Wash and dice the tomatoes, removing the seeds.
5. In a large bowl, combine the rice, peas, sausages, tomatoes, diced cheese, and green olives.
6. Season with extra virgin olive oil, vinegar or lemon juice, and adjust the salt.
7. Mix all the ingredients carefully, then let the rice salad rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving.
8. Before serving, mix the salad again and, if you wish, garnish with chopped fresh herbs.

Fun Facts

The rice salad can be personalized in many ways depending on personal tastes and the seasonality of ingredients. For instance, some prefer adding tuna, while others replace sausages with chicken or ham. Moreover, it is a dish that lends itself well to vegetarian variations, substituting sausages with legumes or grilled vegetables for a meatless version.