Chicken-and-Rice Salad with Pesto Yogurt Dressing

FOR THE RICE:
Bring a medium pot of boiling, salted water to a boil. Stir in the rice and boil until just done, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain. Rinse with cold water and drain thoroughly.

FOR THE DRESSING:
In a large serving bowl, whisk together the yogurt, pesto, salt, and pepper.

TO SERVE:
Toss the chicken and the rice, and combine with dressing.

VARIATION:

• Store-bought pesto is perfectly acceptable for this rice salad (that's what we used), but if you'd like to make it yourself, here's an easy, delicious version.

FOR THE HOMEMADE PESTO:
In a blender or food processor, mince the garlic and basil with the salt. With the machine on, add the olive oil in a thin stream. Continue running the machine until the mixture is smooth, scraping down the ingredients if necessary. Add the pine nuts and Parmesan and blend or process until the nuts are chopped.

WINE RECOMMENDATION:
Both the dominant herbal flavor of the pesto and the yogurt's acidic tang suggest a sauvignon-blanc-based wine. Once again, look to the Loire, sauvignon's ancestral home, for an herbal, gassy, citrusy Sancerre or Pouilly-Fume.