PALERMO RICE SALAD

I owe the inspiration for this recipe to my friend Katia Amore and you can see her Red and Black Rice Salad here.  

My version uses pineapple and grilled red peppers, so I've called it "Palermo Rice Salad" because yellow and red are associated with that city.  I couldn't find the Arlecchino rice that Katia used but I did find some red Thai rice in the supermarket - something, I would add, that I would not have found here when I arrived seven years ago.

This is what I did:

Cook 500 gr red or black rice as directed on the packet then drain it and rinse several times in cold water.  Put it into a serving dish.  Chop 2 sticks celery very finely [Sicilian celery has quite a delicate taste] and add to the rice, along with a cubed, fresh pineapple and about 2 tablesp of its juice.  Drain 2 large, grilled red peppers from a jar and chop them roughly. Add to the dish.  Now chop a handful each of fresh parsley and mint and add.  In another, smaller bowl, mix 6 tablesp olive oil, 1 tablsp white wine vinegar, 1 tablesp honey and salt and pepper to taste.  Pour the dressing over the other ingredients and mix well. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave it in the fridge for at least a couple of hours.  Add some sprigs of mint to serve.