Balsamic Roasted Winter Squash and Wild Rice Salad
- Total Time
- 2 hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1cup wild rice
- 3½cups water or stock (chicken or vegetable)
- Salt to taste
- 2pounds kabocha or butternut squash, peeled and cut in small dice (about 3 cups peeled and diced, weighing 1½ to 1¾ pounds)
- Salt to taste
- 1tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 3tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2tablespoons fresh lemon juice (more to taste)
- 1garlic clove, minced or puréed
- 1teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 3tablespoons walnut oil, or substitute extra virgin olive oil
- ½cup chopped fresh herbs, like parsley, chives, tarragon
- ½cup diced celery
- 15- or 6-ounce bag baby arugula or spinach
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
309 calories; 14 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 42 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 8 grams protein; 924 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
Rinse the wild rice. Bring the water or stock to a boil in a medium saucepan, add salt to taste and the rice. Bring back to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes, until the rice is tender and has begun to splay. Drain through a strainer, return to the pot and cover the pot with a clean dishtowel. Return the lid to the pot and let sit for 10 minutes
- Step 2
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Place the squash in a bowl or directly on the baking sheet and toss with salt to taste, the balsamic vinegar and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Spread on the baking sheet in an even layer and make sure to tip all of the liquid remaining in the bowl over the squash. Roast for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes so that the squash browns evenly. The squash should be tender all the way through. Remove from the heat
- Step 3
In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the lemon juice, garlic, salt to taste and mustard. Whisk in the remaining olive oil and the walnut oil
- Step 4
Combine the wild rice, squash, herbs and celery in a large bowl. Toss with the dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste. Line a platter, individual plates or a wide salad bowl with the baby spinach or arugula. Top with the salad and serve
- Advance preparation: This salad holds well for a couple of days in the refrigerator, without the arugula or spinach
Private Notes
Comments
Prepared this with butternut squash and it was delicious! Used 1 C uncooked "wild rice mix" of brown basmati and wild rice (yields about 3 C cooked rice). Used olive oil throughout (no walnut oil on hand), and omitted the chives (personal preference). The rice, squash, tarragon and all the other ingredients worked so well together. Served the rice salad over a bed of arugula. It looked beautiful and tasted fantastic! It was a home run!
Delicious!! I had the leftovers for lunch one afternoon. I also had a half of an avocado, which I added to this salad. OMG! The flavors were out of this world! I'll definitely make this again.
Very tasty meal. I used one of our last butternut squash from the garden and roasted it in our brick oven with mushrooms while separately caramelizing onions. Living in Minnesota, we have access to excellent wild rice and are always looking for good recipes like this. Thank you!
Terrific! Couldn’t get wild rice so used a brown/wild mix like another commenter—works great. A chopped apple would be nice too!
Used kale instead of spinach. Roasted some cauliflower and parsnip too, mostly because I needed to use it up, but still yummy. Added dried cherries for texture and sweetness and grated parmesan because cheese make everything better. Overall, GREAT recipe!
Used delicata squash as that’s what we had and glad I did as the peeling could be skipped. Perhaps this was why the 2 lbs of squash totaled 5 cups! Mostly broth to cook the wild rice but saved the extra while draining for soup broth. It was good and we’ll have it again when I can devote the time as it takes a while. Changes that worked for us: No celery in the house so finely chopped some snap peas (good!), added a small handful of dried cranberries to offset lemon. Made more dressing thank goodness as it was needed. A bit more fresh herbs mostly from the garden: garlic chives, Italian parsley, oregano, tarragon, perilla leaf. Used a sprinkle of hard cheese. Enough for another day so we’ll get to see how it holds up in the refrigerator. If it does it would be a great side to make the day before for a holiday feast.