summer rice salad with goat cheese dressing

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Here's a simple do-ahead salad that travels very well. It's also great as a side dish for grilled chicken or beef.

Servings: Serves 8.

Ingredients

Dressing
1/2 cup corn oil
1/2 cup crumbled soft mild goat cheese (such as Montrachet)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Salad
4 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 cups uncooked long-grain white rice
1 teaspoon salt

1 10-ounce package frozen corn, thawed, drained
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 cup chopped red onion
6 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh chives or green onions

Preparation

For Dressing: Combine corn oil, goat cheese, vinegar, oregano, cumin and cloves in large bowl and whisk until well blended. Set aside.

For Salad: Bring 4 1/2 cups water to simmer in heavy large saucepan. Add rice and 1 teaspoon salt and stir to combine. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook until rice is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes.

Transfer rice to large bowl. Fluff with fork. Pour goat cheese dressing over hot rice and let cool, tossing occasionally. Mix in corn, red and green bell peppers, red and green onions and chives. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Rice salad can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Let stand 2 hours at room temperature before serving.)