Colin, Dublin born, is celebrity chef and restaurateur based in Australia.

This is my Mum’s recipe for rice salad. Eating this salad always brings me back to sitting around the table in Dublin with the family and friends over a bustling Christmas dinner, it’s a salad of joy. This was a staple at our Christmas table, it was a great side dish of cold rice, sweet fruit, fresh herbs and crunchy corn. It was a welcome relief from the 6 types of potato dishes that were also available on the table and accompanied the turkey and ham to perfection. Her secret was tinned mandarins, every kid loved the tinned mandarins and the juice.

Eating this salad always brings me back to sitting around the table in Dublin with the family and friends over a bustling Christmas dinner, it’s a salad of joy.

Serves 6

Ingredients:
500g cooked white rice – cold
Seeds of 4 pomegranates
Segments and zest of 6 blood oranges
Corn from 6 cob of cooked corn
1 bunch mint roughly chopped
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley – roughly chopped
100mls Vierge dressing to bind

Season
Vierge Dressing (Makes 1 litre)
100 g coriander seeds, toasted
2 star anise, toasted
1 litre extra-virgin olive oil
3 bunches of basil, leaves picked
½ bunch of mint, leaves picked
½ bunch of flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Freshly squeezed lemon juice, to taste

Method:
1. For the vierge sauce, place the coriander seeds, star anise, olive oil and herbs in a blender and blend until smooth. Don’t over-blend the
ingredients as you want to avoid the heat of the blender warming the
dressing. Transfer the dressing to a bowl and season to taste with
salt and pepper. Cover and set aside in the fridge for 24 hours for the
flavours to infuse.
2. The next day, strain the dressing through a fine sieve and transfer it to an airtight bottle or jar. Before using, season to taste with salt and lemon juice.
3. Chargrill corn – this can also be done a day in advance, remove corn
from the husk.
4. Zest oranges over cooked rice then peel the zested oranges with
a knife.
5. Segment the orange over the rice – catches any juices, allow the
segments to fall onto the rice.
6. Add pomegranate and corn. Add chopped herbs and stir through.
Add vierge dressing to bind.
7. Mix and serve.