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Wild Rice Salad with Cranberries and Toasted Pecans. Christmas salad

Wild Rice Salad with Cranberries and Toasted Pecans

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 5 minutes
Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 cup wild rice rinsed
  • 2.5 cups water or chicken broth
  • 3/4 cup dried cranberries
  • 3/4 cup pecan halves toasted and chopped
  • 1/2 cup chopped celery
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 3 green onions thinly sliced
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons orange juice
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  • Bring the water or broth to a boil in a medium saucepan, add the rinsed wild rice, cover, and reduce the heat to low.
  • Simmer for 45 to 50 minutes, checking at the 45 minute mark, until most of the grains have split open and show a pale, curled interior.
  • Drain off any excess liquid and spread the rice on a sheet pan to cool for 15 minutes.
  • Toast the pecans in a dry skillet over medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring often, until fragrant, then chop once cool.
  • Whisk the olive oil, orange juice, red wine vinegar and salt in a small bowl until combined.
  • Combine the cooled wild rice, dried cranberries, toasted pecans, celery, parsley and green onions in a large bowl.
  • Pour the dressing over the rice mixture and toss until everything is evenly coated.
  • Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 3 days; this salad only improves overnight as the rice soaks up the dressing.

Good to Know

This one genuinely tastes better a day ahead, so cook the rice and mix the whole salad the night before and skip the day-of prep entirely.