Harvest Wild Rice Salad
Harvest Wild Rice Salad is a delicious celebration of the season and a holiday potluck masterpiece. Have you been asked to bring a side dish? Go bold with this colorful healthy rice pilaf salad ~ it’s naturally gluten free, vegetarian, and guaranteed to blow everybody away!
Servings: 10 servings
Ingredients
Dressing
- 1/2 cup walnut oil (substitute olive)
- 5 Tbsp fig vinegar (substitute balsamic)
- sea salt
Salad
- 3 cups cooked wild rice
- 3 cups cooked black rice (Forbidden rice)
- sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste
- 1 medium red beet, boiled, peeled, and chopped
- 1 cup diced and roasted butternut squash
- 1 cup roasted baby Brussels sprouts, halved or quartered if large
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1 cup seedless grapes, halved if large
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- 1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, rough chopped (roasting directions below)
- 1 cup sliced celery hearts (leaves too!)
- 1/2 cup very thinly sliced red onion
- 1 apple, diced (toss with lemon juice to prevent browning)
- 1/2 cup roasted cranberries (dierections below)
Garnish
- pomegranate seeds (optional)
Instructions
- Whisk the oil and vinegar together until they emulsify (get creamy and thick and don't separate.) Taste and adjust the oil to vinegar ratio if you like. Add salt to taste.
- While the rice is still warm, dress with some of the dressing. This allows it to sink in and flavor the rice. Spread the rice out in your serving dish.
- Top the rice with the rest of the salad ingredients, arranged in strips, if you like. You can cover and refrigerate just like this for up to a day. Toss with more dressing before serving. Garnish with pomegranate seeds.
To roast cranberries
- Put the cranberries on a baking sheet and roast in a 350F oven for 10-15 minutes, just until they turn glossy and start to pop.
To roast hazelnuts
- Place hazelnuts on a baking sheet and roast in a 350F oven for 10-15 minutes until fragrant and beginning to turn golden. Give the pan a shake once or twice while baking.