It’s officially the second day of spring! Let’s make a hearty salad perfect for welcoming the warmer weather and getting our bodies ready for the summer months. This salad features grilled zucchini, crispy green beans, nutty brown rice and a spicy-sweet harissa and honey dressing. Flavoursome, filling, and sturdy it’s perfect for filling lunchboxes all week long. 
Being told by your doctor that you aren’t allowed to eat veggies, fruit or wholegrains for three days might seem like heaven to some people. Yay: bring on the white bread, white pasta, ice cream! But for me, last week’s restricted diet was a nightmare. So when I woke up on Saturday morning all I could think about was making big luscious, green and grain filled salads to wake my body up again and get my eating back on track. This spicy, hearty salad was just what the doctor blogger ordered!
Green beans were abundant at the greengrocer on the weekend and I helped myself to a large bag of them because nothing beats the crunch of a green bean snack while I’m cooking, and they are so versatile! I love grilled green beans because the outside gets a little crispy while the inside stays totally fresh and snapable. Zucchini is very sweet around this time of year as the season begins and it begs to be thrown on my little grill pan for just a few minutes to soften and char. 
The best thing about this salad though is the two finishing touches that bring a big boost of flavour to this hearty green bowl. Firstly, we have a spicy harissa and honey dressing that soaks into each grain of rice and is the perfect partner to crunchy sweet spring greens. Secondly, we finish the salad with a chopped mix of parsley and salty, crumbled feta. Taste explosion! Make a big batch of this gorgeous green salad and eat liberally to celebrate the coming warmer weather, the jacaranda trees that are starting to show signs of life outside my window, and the pure green light that filtered through my weekend walks last weekend. I’m so happy spring is here! I’m going to eat some more salad to celebrate!
Grilled Zucchini and Green Bean Brown Rice Salad with Harissa-Honey Dressing
Gluten Free | Vegetarian | Serves 2 very generously. Easily multiplied | Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup brown rice
- 1 1/2 cups low sodium vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium zucchini
- 2 large handfuls of green beans
- 1 spring onion
- 3 cups butter lettuce (or other greens)
For the dressing:
- 1/2 teaspoon harissa (I used dried, you can use paste instead)
- 1 teaspoon honey
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- Salt and pepper
For the topping:
- 50 grams Greek feta, crumbled
- 1/2 cup (packed) flat parsley leaves
Method
- Place brown rice and vegetable stock in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook without stirring for 30 minutes or until rice is al dente. Drain off any excess liquid, place in a large bowl, and allow rice to come to room temperature.
- Chop zucchini into coins about 0.5cm thick and top and tail beans. Heat olive oil in a grill pan over medium heat and add zucchini coins and beans in a single layer. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side or until softened but not sloppy. Turn over and cook for a further minute or two. Drain on some paper towel and cool to room temperature. Then add to the bowl with the rice.
- Slice green onion into thin slices and place in the bowl with the cooled vegetables and rice.
- Tear lettuce into large pieces and add to bowl. Toss salad thoroughly.
- To make dressing whisk all ingredients together and then pour over the salad.
- For the feta topping mix together feta and parsley leaves and pile on top of your salad.
- Divide salad between two plates, ensuring both get a decent amount of the feta topping.
