Recipe: Wild Rice Salad with Roasted Green Beans and Dried Cranberries
We’ve started referring to this as our “ease into fall” salad! We can eat it hot or cold depending on the mood of the day, and the earthy flavors of the rice and roasted veggies help us look forward to the crisp days ahead.
For our salad, we were using up some farmer’s market veggies that were just about past their prime. Feel free to substitute whatever vegetables you have on hand or change the quantities.
If you can only find the wild rice in a mix with other rices, eliminate the brown rice and just use 1 1/2 cups of the wild rice mix. It’s best to dress the salad while the rice is still warm so that it absorbs some of the vinaigrette.
Wild Rice Salad with Roasted Green Beans and Dried Cranberries
Serves 6 – 7
1 cup wild rice
1/2 cup brown rice
1 pound green beans, ends trimmed and cut into 1″-long pieces
1 onion, diced
10 oz portabella, baby bella, or white mushrooms, diced into large chunks
1 cup dried cranberries
Extra cranberries for garnish
salt and pepper
for the vinaigrette:
4 Tablespoons
good olive oil
2 Tablespoons red wine or cider vinegar
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
salt and pepper
Heat the oven to 400-degrees.
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add a handful of salt and the wild rice. Cook for 15 minutes and then add the brown rice. Cook the rices are chewy and tender, about 45 minutes more, adding additional hot water as needed for the rice to stay submerged. Drain the rice and return it to the pot. Cover and let sit until ready to make the salad.
Meanwhile, arrange the green beans on a sheet pan. Sprinkle with good olive oil, salt, and pepper, and turn to coat evenly. Roast in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes, turning the beans after 10 minutes, until beans are shriveled and have brown spots. Set aside to cool.
Heat a teaspoon of oil in a skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the onions and saute until they become translucent. Add the mushrooms. Saute until the mushrooms have release all their liquid, the liquid has boiled off, and the mushrooms are golden brown.
Combine the cranberries, rice, green beans, onions, and mushrooms in a large bowl. Whisk together all the ingredients for the vinaigrette and toss with the salad. Salt and pepper to taste.
The salad can be served hot, room temperature, or cold, though the flavor improves the longer you let the salad sit. Garnish with extra cranberries.
(Image: Emma Christensen for the Kitchn)