Darshana Thacker's Hollywood Bowl Brown Rice Salad

Every LOVE GOODLY box includes a recipe from Forks Over Knives' chef, Darshana Thacker. Forks Over Knives, our healthy lifestyle partner, has helped ignite a food-as-medicine revolution, as a growing number of people are learning that a diet based in fruits, vegetables, tubers, whole grains, and legumes makes all the difference when it comes to good health. A diet high in animal-based and highly processed foods makes people sick and overweight. But many of these sicknesses can be prevented, halted, and often reversed by eating a whole-food, plant-based diet.

Forks Over Knives chef Darshana Thacker made this salad for me when I visited her home in Venice, CA for our Talk the Walk interview. She officially developed it for a Hollywood Bowl potluck, which is how it got its glamorous name—but Darshana told me that a version of this salad had been her go-to lunch or dinner for years. There are so many flavors in this dish, you truly don’t miss the oil. Darshana recommends making it in advance but for our lunch we ate it immediately after preparation and it was delicious! I can see this salad as a main or side course—if you’re in planning mode, it would also be a perfect addition to a cruelty-free Thanksgiving table.

Makes 8 cups

Ingredients

1 cup cooked brown rice (ideally, still warm but not steaming)

1 zucchini, finely chopped (about one cup)

1 cucumber, finely chopped (about one cup)

½ cup finely chopped green onions, white and light green parts

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

3 to 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from about two lemons)

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

sea salt

Instructions

Add the ingredients, plus three tablespoons lemon juice (reserve one tablespoon) and salt to taste. Mix well. Taste and add the remaining lemon juice if desired. Cover and refrigerate or let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes to allow flavors to meld. Serve cold or at room temperature; can be refrigerated for up to three days.