Wild Rice Salad with Fruit, Fresh Greens and Red Wine Vinaigrette

Start with a gorgeous salad full of mixed greens, savory scallions, and sweet red onions tossed with a trio of fresh fruit drizzled with a bright red wine vinaigrette. Then up your game by adding the nuttiness of wild rice and you’re on to something really wonderful!

Mixing grains into salads is not a new concept but one that’s made a comeback in recent years. And for good reason. The flavor and texture grains deliver are quite delicious and quite comforting.

This salad starts with fresh field greens, scallions and red onions along a medley of fruit of oranges, blueberries and blackberries. Then a generous amount of wild rice is tossed into the mix.

A crisp vinaigrette adds the right touch to dress this salad. It’s made from red wine vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, kosher salt, a touch of garlic powder and black pepper blended with a luscious extra-virgin olive oil. Sweet, tart and bright it’s a favorite from my Texas Panhandle hometown!

And if you’re looking for a great value on extra-virgin olive oil, check out Kirkland’s Signature Organic Extra-Virgin Olive Oil. I had long read the great reviews and after giving it a try, it’s now a staple in my pantry.

For an extra layer of flavor, cook the rice with broth and stir in bit of orange juice while it steams. You can make the rice ahead of time – it’s wonderful added warm or chilled to the salad.

Salads are prefect for sides or entrees in this warmer weather – but they needn’t be boring!

Wild Rice Salad with Fruit, Fresh Greens and Red Wine Vinaigrette

For the red wine vinaigrette:

¼ cup red wine vinegar

¼ cup fresh lemon juice, about 1 large lemon

⅓ cup sugar

1 tablespoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil

For the salad:

1 cup wild rice

1-¾ cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 tablespoon butter

½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice, about 1 orange

4 cups mixed field greens

3 scallions, thinly sliced

⅓ cup thinly sliced red onion

2 large navel oranges, sectioned or sliced

1 cup fresh blueberries

1 cup fresh blackberries

To make the red wine vinaigrette:

A pint-sized jar is a great vessel for mixing and storing vinaigrette. You can also blend it in a processor or blender.

Pour the red wine vinegar into a large jar along with the lemon juice, sugar, kosher salt, garlic powder, and the black pepper.

Add the olive oil, cover the jar with the lid and shake vigorously until the vinaigrette is well blended.

Makes about 1-½  cups of vinaigrette.

To make the salad:

Combine the wild rice with the broth and butter in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cover the pan, reduce the heat to low and continue cooking for 45 minutes*. Keep the pan covered and remove the pan from the heat. (*Cooking instructions for different brands of wild rice may vary.)

Let the rice steam for 10 minutes then stir in the orange juice. Leave the pan covered while you prepare the salad.

Mix the greens with the scallions, the red onions, and the oranges.

Add the rice and drizzle with enough of the vinaigrette to coat the greens, about ¼ to ⅓ cup.

Toss in the blueberries and the blackberries and gently toss to mix into the salad.

Serves 4 as a side, 2 as an entrée.