An easy vegan and gluten-free wild rice salad made with cranberries, pecans and almonds and a delicious festive allspice and ginger vinaigrette. Perfect for all your holiday entertaining or as a celebratory potluck dish to take to parties.
Cook the wild rice according to the packet instructions (35-40 minutes in a big pan of salted boiling water and then drain).
180 g wild rice blend (490g/1 cup cooked wild rice)
Make the dressing by whisking all the ingredients together or shaking vigorously in a jar.
3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoon lime juice, ½ tablespoon pomegranate molasses, ½ teaspoon ground allspice, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Toast the pecans and almond flakes by heating each in a dry pan for a few minutes, shaking frequently and watching like a hawk to make sure they don’t burn. (Do the pecans first then the almond flakes rather than all together!).
40 g pecans (or pistachios), 25 g almond flakes (slivered almonds)
Mix all the ingredients together with the dressing. Serve with some parsley and pomegranate seeds scattered on top.
75 g tinned beluga lentils (or puy lentils), 75 g dried cranberries, a handful pomegranate seeds, a few sprigs of flat leaf parsley (chopped small), 35 g rocket (arugula)
Notes
If making ahead, don’t add the rocket until you are ready to serve.
The salad (without the rocket) will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge and the flavours develop over time!
Feel free to leave out the lentils if you don’t like them, or substitute for puy lentils.