I have this thing for wild rice, which is weird since it seems like the most understated option in the grain world. White rice dominates our regional culinary landscape.
Brown rice is the go-to healthy carb. Quinoa is the quick-cooking favorite grain. Even farro and wheatberry get decent play in modern grain recipes. But to me, wild rice is by far the most flavorful and nicely textured, and if you wait out its lengthy cook time, you’ve got a really nice base ingredient for soups, salads and side dishes.
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We’ve got plenty of time to use wild rice in soups and hearty sides, so let’s focus on salads. This wild rice salad with cranberries and pecans is perfect for tailgating. With yummy fall and winter flavors, it portends seasonal change, but it’s still light and cool enough to handle the current screaming heat. Add cooked chicken to give it another dimension, and don’t forget to use this kind of zester to produce tangy, flavorful ribbons of orange zest to make the dish pop.
Enjoy!
Maggie Heyn Richardson is a regular 225 contributor. Reach her at hungryforlouisiana.com.