Apollo rice salad with mint, lemon, and bottarga
Apollo Rice Salad with Mint, Lemon, and Bottarga
Recipe and photos by Valentina Masotti.
This Apollo rice salad is an ideal summer recipe. Simple and quick, it’s made with just a few fresh ingredients. Apollo rice is an excellent Italian alternative to Basmati rice, which is cultivated in India and Pakistan. Apollo rice has a long, tapered grain, a natural and intense aroma, perfect for accompanying main courses or creating tasty salads like this one.
Ingredients for 2 servings:
- 200 gr of Apollo rice
- 400 ml of water
- 10 mint leaves
- Zest and juice of one lemon
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Bottarga di Cabras
- Salt
- Pepper
Preparation
To cook Apollo rice, you can simply boil it or use the pilaf method.
If you choose the pilaf method, toast the Apollo rice with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, without washing the rice.
There's no need to wash the rice: Italian rice mills (in this case, Riseria Viazzo di Tricerro, VC) clean the rice before processing. In past centuries, when husking was done by hand, rice was washed to remove any impurities, but today technology has evolved, and modern rice mill facilities guarantee a clean and well-selected product. Furthermore, if you wash the rice, you deplete it of starch, minerals, and flavor.
Heat 400 ml of water and add it all to the rice, season with salt, and cover with a lid. Cook for 11 minutes over low heat without ever opening the pot. Once cooked, fluff the rice with a fork and let it cool in a cold container.
Wash and clean the mint, chop it, and add it to the grated lemon zest. Squeeze the lemon and pour the juice into a small bowl with extra virgin olive oil and mix. Grate the mullet bottarga from Cabras.
Dress the rice with the oil and lemon emulsion, mint leaves, lemon zest, and bottarga. Add pepper and serve at room temperature.