Wild rice salad with crunchy green vegetables & pesto dressing

Serve this fresh and crisp accompaniment with the Lemon & oregano chicken (see opposite) or pair with some deli meats and cheeses and a loaf of crusty bread.

SERVES 6 PREP 20min, plus cooling and chilling COOK 25min

• 250g mixed basmati and wild rice

• 1tsp vegetable stock powder or 1/2 stock cube, crumbled

• 2tbsp basil-flavoured olive oil

• Lemon juice, to taste

• 1/2tsp Dijon mustard

• 100g fine green beans, halved

• 2tbsp mixed seeds

• 50g sugar snaps, halved

• 1/4 cucumber, deseeded and chopped

• 1 large spring onion, finely chopped

• Handful small mint leaves

• 2tbsp basil pesto

1 Cook rice according to pack instructions with the vegetable stock powder or stock cube.

2 Meanwhile, put oil, a squeeze of lemon juice and the mustard into a jam jar. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Shake to combine (alternatively, whisk together in a small bowl until emulsified).

3 Drain rice in a sieve and rinse briefly under cold running water to stop the cooking. Drain again. Return rice to the pan and add the dressing. Toss well while still warm, then spread rice on to a large plate to speed up the cooling. Chill as soon as possible.

4 Bring a pan of salted water to the boil, add beans and simmer

briskly for 1min (they should retain some bite). Drain and cool quickly under cold running water to stop them cooking further.

5 Heat a small pan over medium heat. Add the seeds and dry-fry until just golden and starting to smell toasted. Tip on to a plate to cool.

6 Assemble the salad for transportation. Tip the chilled rice into a sealable container, then lay the beans, sugar snaps, cucumber, spring onion and mint on top. Cover tightly.

Decant the pesto and seeds into separate containers. When ready to eat, toss together the rice, vegetables and pesto, and sprinkle with the seeds.