Wild Rice Salad
Wild Rice Salad is a nutty, delicious, slightly sweet, slightly salty, and tart side dish – great for a buffet table at a large party – and equally beautiful on your family weeknight table. This is gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan. The trifecta! This dish is versatile – can accompany many main course items and you can substitute brown rice (keeping it gluten free) – or Farro – if you want to add a wheat component. Just cook the grain according to package instructions – and then add the other ingredients – easy – delicious – and keeps nicely in the refrigerator
Ingredients
- 1 lb dry wild rice
- 1/3 cup finely chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
- ½ cup roughly dried cranberries
- ½ cup roughly golden raisins
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup finely diced purple onion
- ¾ cup whole pecans
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons very high quality aged balsamic vinegar
Optional
Instructions
- Cook the rice in abundant lightly salted water until tender. Test the rice after ½ hour of gentle simmering – and then every so often until it is just tender, but still has good texture and bite. You want the rice to be Al Dente (to the tooth). If the grains are splitting open and you are seeing white interior flesh of the grain you are definitely done. Strain the rice into a colander and return it to the warm pot, and let it cool with the lid just ajar.
- After ½ hour, transfer the rice to a large mixing bowl.
- Add the remaining ingredients.
- Toss and taste. Adjust seasoning if necessary.
Notes
Serve room temperature. Just double the recipe for a large party. This salad is a fabulous accompaniment to just about anything.
Regarding balsamic vinegar - I boil down balsamic vinegar by 1/3 of its volume and store it in a squeeze bottle for use in recipes which need a thicker balsamic drizzle - which is perfect for this rice dish.
