Wild Rice and Roasted Squash Salad With Cider Vinaigrette
Updated Dec. 2, 2020
- Total Time
- 1¼ hours
- Rating
- Comments
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Ingredients
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- ¾cup uncooked wild rice (about 5 ounces)
- ¾pound peeled kabocha or butternut squash, cut into ¾-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
- 2tablespoons olive oil
- ½teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½small head radicchio, thinly sliced
- ½cup sweetened dried cherries
- ½cup chopped fresh parsley leaves and tender stems
- ⅓cup toasted chopped walnuts
- Flaky sea salt
- 1cup fresh apple cider
- ¼cup olive oil
- 1tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1teaspoon minced shallot
- 1teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- ¼teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
For the Wild Rice Salad
For the Cider Vinaigrette
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
343 calories; 18 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 11 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 42 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 15 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 401 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Heat the oven to 400 degrees and set a rack in the center of the oven.
- Step 2
Prepare the rice: Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Add the wild rice to the boiling water, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook the rice until tender and most grains have split, 40 to 50 minutes. Drain the rice.
- Step 3
While the rice cooks, roast the squash: On a baking sheet, toss the squash with the olive oil, paprika and a sprinkle of kosher salt and pepper. Spread the squash into an even layer, then transfer to the oven to roast, stirring a few times, until golden and tender, about 20 to 30 minutes.
- Step 4
Meanwhile, make the vinaigrette: In a small saucepan, bring the apple cider to a boil over high. Boil the cider until it has reduced to about ¼ cup, 10 to 15 minutes. Carefully transfer the cider syrup to a jar with a lid (don’t put the lid on yet) and let it cool slightly. Add the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, shallot, mustard, salt and pepper. Screw the lid on tightly and shake vigorously to combine. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
- Step 5
Assemble the salad: Add the cooked rice, roasted squash, radicchio, cherries and parsley to a large bowl. Shake the vinaigrette to combine, then drizzle a few tablespoons over the salad and toss gently to combine. Add more vinaigrette to taste. (You may have a bit of extra vinaigrette; refrigerate it for up to 3 days and toss with other greens or grains.)
- Step 6
Top the salad with the toasted walnuts and a sprinkle of flaky salt and pepper, and serve immediately.
Private Notes
Comments
Be aware that cultivated wild rice, and the true wild rice, the kind that grows in the lakes of northern Minnesota, and is hand harvested by the Ojibwe and parched over a wood fire, are quite different. Cultivated wild rice requires about 40 minutes of cooking, but, if you use the hand harvested wild rice, you should cook it only 15 minutes, 20 minutes maximum. If you haven't tried the real wild rice, I highly recommend it; the texture and flavor are amazing!
This is really delicious. I used baby arugula instead of radicchio, and added lots to make more of a greens/grains salad. For the dressing, used honey instead of reducing apple cider. Grilled chicken with some Penzey's Mural of Flavor, sliced and served over the salad to create a filling bowl. Super healthy, totally satisfying and delicious. Glad I rediscovered wild rice!
A fair amount of work but very tasty. Didn’t have apple cider so used 1/4 apple cider vinegar and 1 tsp honey. Don’t skip any of the salad ingredients, they all add something.
I love this recipe and look forward to making it every fall. I see someone mentioned substituting arugula for radicchio. Very different flavor profile but if you can’t abide radicchio, it is a fair substitution in my opinion.
This was very good. The proportions on the dressing were off for me. I did honey vs. reduced cider and could not bring myself to use a cup of it. Half cup and dressing was still too sweet. Next time I’ll use a trad vinaigrette with cider vinegar.
This was delicious! I felt the dressing needed a bit more acid and added juice from half a lemon which did the trick for me. Also did red cabbage instead of radicchio because no radicchio left at the market, next time I’d sub something more peppery like arugula. Added feta too!