Ina's Wild Rice Salad

I have a few vegetarians in my family, including my mother and sister, and when they come for the holidays, I remember to make them something other than sausage stuffing.

This wild rice salad from the Barefoot Contessa fits the bill.

It is the perfect holiday side dish and can be made ahead.

My friend Eileen gave me a bag of wild rice from her state of Minnesota, it smelled so beautiful while cooking, nutty and fragrant.

I used a blackberry vinegar, but any berry vinegar will do...........

You can use green or red seedless grapes, or both.

I used clementines, because they are easy to peel and have no pits.

This salad will be in my holiday rotation from now on.

Ina's Wild Rice Salad (adapted from Barefoot Contessa):

1 cup long-grain wild rice
Kosher salt
2 navel oranges or 4 clementines, peeled and pith removed
2 tablespoons good olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons raspberry vinegar
1/2 cup seedless green or red grapes, cut in half
1/2 cup pecans, toasted
1/4 cup dried cranberries or raisins
2 tablespoons scallions, white and green parts, chopped
salt & pepper

Cook the rice for about 50 minutes. 1 cup of wild rice plus 4 cups salted water.

Add the warm rice to a large bowl and add in the orange sections. Squeeze the fresh orange juice over the rice and add in the oil and vinegar.

Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix together.
Season w/ salt & pepper.

Let the salad rest at room temperature for an hour before serving.

If you make this ahead, refrigerate it, but make sure you take it out at least an hour before serving and adjust seasonings (might need more salt or vinegar the next day).

The next day I garnished w/ some pomegranate seeds for a more festive look.

So good, and healthy too! ;)