Wild rice salad

(serves 8-10)

Adapted from Ottolenghi's Plenty More

This is my first rice salad. 

Being asian i have to say it's quite a novel concept to be eating rice in a salad rather than as the base of the meal, and it's also very bizarre to eat rice warm rather than steaming hot! The first (and maybe only?) time i tried a wild rice salad was about 5 years ago on the Inca trail whilst hiking and i was pretty impressed! Wild rice is not really rice but actually a species of grass with a nutty taste and a firm texture, it's quite tasty mixed in with other grains and adds an extra bite! 

It's taken quite a while for me to get around to trying it out, but finally had the occasion to trial this great combination of grains, nuts and fresh herbs! It's a great gluten-free option for dinner parties and looks pretty too :) Ottolenghi warns about the number of pots and pans used to make this, which i think is a fair warning. I did use the rice-cooker to ease some of the work. It wasn't actually complicated, just that the different grains had slightly different water ratios and also need to be monitored to make sure they are al denté! Wild rice is a 1:3 ratio, basmati is 1:1.5, quinoa is 1:1.5 ratio with water.

Ingredients
220g (approx. 2 C) basmati rice
150g wild rice
100g (1/2 C) quinoa
1/4 C (60g) pine nuts
1/4 C (60g) silvered almonds
2 brown onions
1/2 T brown sugar
1/4 C craisins (or cranberries)
40g rocket
30g parsley
20g basil
5g tarragon, hard stems removed

Dressing
2 garlic cloves
rind and juice of 1/2 lemon (approx. 60mL)
white wine vinegar
olive oil
salt and pepper

Method
1. Soak the basmati rice for 15 minutes in cold water and 1/2 tsp salt, drain and then combine with 3 C water and place in the rice cooker to cook. Cool to room temperature.
2. Heat a pot with 600mL water and put the wild rice in. Cook on medium heat for 35 minutes stirring occasionally until the majority of the water is absorbed and the grain is cooked but still firm. Rinse, drain and cool.
3. Heat a small pot with 3/4 C water and put in the quinoa. Cook on medium heat for 15 minutes, or until the water is absorbed. Cool to room temperature.
NB. You can do this a day before if cooking for a group, just need to warm to room temperature or slightly warm before serving.

4. Toast the almonds and pine nuts on low heat until browned and aroma is released.
5. Finely slice the onions. Heat a saucepan on low-medium heat, then add in a dash of oil and add in the onions. Cook on low heat for 10-15 minutes to caramelise, add a touch of salt and about 1/2 T of brown sugar and 1 T water to soften and brown the onions. Add in the craisins and put the lid on for another 10 minutes until the craisins swell.

6. Finely chop the parsley, basil and tarragon. 

7. Combine the rice and quinoa mix, caramelised onions and craisins, rocket, herbs and nuts to serve!