Fruited Wild Rice Salad
For the past five months I have been working on a nutrition workshop for Anoka Hennepin School District and have been consciously eating more whole grains. (We need to eat three servings of whole grains a day.) This salad is perfect as it combines whole grains and fruit and doesn’t “taste healthy!”
I served this to my Dinner Club and noticed they all “cleaned their plates.”
2 cups cooked wild rice
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp raspberry vinegar
½ cup dried cherries
1 cup green grapes, cut in half
1 cup red grapes, cut in half
¼ cup toasted slivered almonds
Clementines or orange sections for garnish
Combine all ingredients. Allow to sit for 1 hour before you serve it. Save some dried cherries to garnish the top. Garnish with orange sections.
Makes 8 ½ cup servings.
If you want a quicker 5 ingredient recipe there is one for Wild Rice with Cherries in our Five Ingredients for Healthy Living Cookbook.
More About Wild Rice
Wild rice is actually a grass that grows in shallow water. Its thin dark grains have a stronger flavor than white or brown rice and a crisper texture. It is low in fat and high in fiber. It is an excellent source of B vitamins and is rich in zinc and potassium. One cup of cooked wild rice contains.
Stovetop Method
Place 1 cup washed wild rice in saucepan. Add 3 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 40 to 50 minutes. Drain any excess liquid. Try not to overcook as the rice will lose it’s texture and become soft. Makes about 3 to 4 cups cooked wild rice. One pound of wild rice equals 20 ½ cup servings.
Oven Method
Combine 1 cup washed rice with 3 cups water in a covered 2 quart casserole. Cover and bake at 350°F oven for one hour. Check wild rice. Add more water if needed. Wild rice should be moist not dry.
Prepare double what you need and freeze a batch. Use for wild rice soup (Brett’s favorite) or wild rice burgers. A recipe I want to try is Wild Rice Pudding.