Rice Salad with Chicken
By: Giangi Townsend
Published: Saturday, May 29, 2021 - 7:46am

Ingredients




1 whole roasted chicken
2 cups Uncle Ben's rice
6 to 7 tablespoons olive oil
3 to 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 16 ounces jar Giardiniera

Preparation

1 In a large pot with salted water cook the rice until still has a light bite when tasted. 2 Place in a small bowl the Giardiniera vegetables cut into small pieces. 3 Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and mix. Let it sit for 10 minutes. 4 When the rice has cool down add the pieces of chicken, the Giardiniera, and the olive oil. Blend well and add vinegar ½ teaspoons at a time and taste in between. It should not be overpowered by vinegar. 5 Chill before serving if time permitting.

About

Rice salad with chicken is one of the easiest and quite delicious summer salads. Cooked rice with pickled Italian giardiniera gives this dish a fantastic twist.
I love to roast chicken but when time is pressing or it is too hot to have the oven on, our local grocery store has a great roasting chicken that only needs to be taken home and cut up into desired pieces. Cooking the rice the night before saves time as well.
This recipe of rice salad has been in the family since I can remember. My grandmother as well as my mom made it frequently during the summer months in Italy. It can be served a room temperature or just out of the refrigerator.  Perfect for a quick lunch, dinner al fresco, BBQ, picnic, or potluck.
Stores well as well as can stay out with no need of refrigeration. No mayonnaise thus no risk of turning on you. That is one of my favorite attributes of this salad.