Cockpit table classics - rice and artichoke salad

One of my favorite memories as a kid was the family piling onto the boat (first a Tartan 27, later a C&C 34) and heading to Lloyd Harbor for the night with a bunch of other families. When we got there, the kids would pile into the dinghies and hopefully a Whaler to go ashore, fish for snappers, go kneeboarding, and the other stuff that kids do around boats. As the sun went down, the waterlogged horde would head back to the raft-up for a moveable feast on each boat's cockpit table. Many of those meals are enduring favorites, prized for their ability to be prepared ahead and withstand the trip, and of course their taste. This week we feature my mom's rice and artichoke salad. There's a specific Tupperware that I can see this in as I picture this in my mind, and that sucker always went home 100% picked clean. If you're like me, you can find someone else to eat your olives. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 2 teaspoons coarse salt
• ¼ teaspoon curry powder
• 12 small green olives, pitted and sliced
• 12 ounces marinated artichoke hearts, cut into ½-inch wedges, liquid reserved
• 1 celery stalk, thinly sliced on a bias
• ½ ounce baby spinach (about 1 cup)

Directions

1. Bring stock to a simmer. Meanwhile, heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook until onion is translucent. Add rice, salt, and curry powder. Cook, stirring, 1 minute.
2. Raise heat, and add half the stock. Stir 30 seconds. Stir in remaining stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, and cover. Cook 20 minutes.
3. Spread rice onto a rimmed baking sheet. Let cool. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 1 hour.
4. Combine olives, artichoke hearts, and celery in a large bowl. Add rice, and toss. Add 1 tablespoon reserved artichoke liquid, and toss. (Salad can be made up to this point and refrigerated overnight.)
5. Before serving, stir in spinach. Serve cold or at room temperature.