Wild Rice Salad

Aren’t there times you just want something different, but not bizarrely different? I saw this Wild Rice Salad from The Silver Palate and just knew the combination of wild rice, pecans, raisins, and mint, along with a fresh orange juice dressing would be amazing.

I was right! This is called a “salad,” but also could be a stuffing for a chicken or a great side to a steak.

This Wild Rice Salad is easy to throw together, but you need a little time to cook the rice.

Also, after all the ingredients including the dressing are mixed together, it needs to sit at room temperature for all those great flavors to develop. Don’t forget to let it sit awhile (at least 2 hours) – it really makes a difference.

This dish is nutty, sweet, a little salty, crunchy, and filling. The combination of ingredients blended with the orange/olive oil dressing are wonderful and it was hard to take photos of it without snitching a spoonful here and there (had to level out the ingredients, right?).

I forgot to mention the orange zest. It’s a real stand out and, along with the mint, gives the rice nice levels of flavor. I’ll be making this Wild Rice Salad very often, especially in the summer when I don’t want to crank up the oven.

I’ve heard of The Silver Palate for years and thought of it as more of an old-fashioned cookbook. After making the Pasta Sauce Raphael a few weeks ago and this Easy Wild Rice Salad, I’ve changed my mind.

The Silver Palate is going strong with a current website and new recipes, but these standards from their older cookbooks are hard to beat and worth your time to explore.

I adapted this recipe a little from the original according to our tastes, but you can see the original in the book if you’re interested.

Simple Wild Rice Salad from The Silver Palate

Yield: 4 - 5

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Inactive Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes

Nutty, crunchy, sweet, a little salty with an orange/olive oil dressing.

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Ingredients

• 1 C Uncle Ben's Original Wild Rice (6 oz. box)
• 3 C water
• 3/4 C pecan halves
• 1 C yellow raisins
• Grated rind of one medium orange
• 1/4 C fresh mint, chopped
• 1 tbsp finely diced onion
• 1/4 C olive oil
• 1/3 C, plus 1 tbsp fresh orange juice
• 1 tsp salt
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Pour wild rice into a medium non-stick sauce pan, along with the water and the flavor packet.  Bring to a rapid boil, then adjust the heat to a gentle simmer and cook, uncovered for 20-25 minutes.  Rice will still be moist, but with no standing liquid.
2. While the rice is cooking, add the pecan halves, raisins, grated orange zest and mint to a medium bowl and stir. 
3. In a small bowl, mix the onion, olive oil, orange juice, salt and pepper together, whisking  briskly to combine.
4. Mix the rice into the bowl with the pecan/raisin mixture and stir.  Pour in the orange juice/olive oil dressing and toss gently until completely combined. 
5. Set the bowl on the counter and let the salad stand for at least 2 hours to let the flavors develop.  Serve at room temperature.  Refrigerate leftovers.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

The rice should still be moist after cooked, but the liquid should be cooked completely out.  You can pat it with a paper towel if you think it's too wet.

Be sure and let it sit for at least two hours at room temperature.  The taste difference is significant!

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 5 Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 349Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 19gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 477mgCarbohydrates: 38gFiber: 4gSugar: 22gProtein: 4g

Nutrition Values are Approximate