Wild rice salad

This wild rice salad is a wonderful combination of textures and flavors. A little tart from the vinaigrette, sweet from the dried fruit, with crunchy veg and tender fruit. And a whole lot of wholesome tastiness.

📝 Ingredients

• 1/2 cup wild rice
• 1/2 red pepper
• 2 ribs celery
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 4 oz grated beets (approx - 1 small beet, raw)
• 3 tbsp sunflower seeds (- suggest roasted unsalted)
• 1/4 cup tart cherries (- recommend Fruit Bliss)
• 10 dried apricots (- recommend Fruit Bliss)
• 8 dates (- recommend Fruit Bliss deglet nour)
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 clove garlic (crushed)
• Salt and pepper

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1Cook the wild rice according to packet instructions - I find approx 1 ¼ cups water with the ½ cup rice, brought to a bowl and simmered for approx 40 minutes works well. Cook until tender but still nutty rather than overly soft and bursting open.
2. 2Meanwhile, dice the pepper, slice the celery and chop the parsley. Coarsely grate the beet and measure out the sunflower seeds and cherries. Roughly chop the apricots (around in quarters) and dates (around 6 pieces per date).
3. 3When wild rice is cooked, remove from heat. Whisk or shake together in a little jar the ingredients for the vinaigrette. Pour over the cooked rice and mix through. Let cool a little then add all of the other ingredients. Mix well and serve room temperature or cool. This salad works well made ahead.