Having a new rice cooker has resurrected my desire to regularly cook whole grains. Morning porridge and whole-grain salads are wholesome and filling on these lingering cold, winter days.
The fun part is trying the cooker out with various types of rice and grains. Wild rice (a local Missouri variety) surprisingly turned out best so far, crisp yet perfectly soft. I love the contrast of solid black grains amongst the partially cracked ones; the melange of brown, gray and black looks like an artist’s paint palette.
This dish was my attempt to use up odds and ends in the fridge. As with any grain dish, I created this with salty, sweet, tangy, nutty and herbaceous qualities in mind and turned to apples, rosemary, pine nuts and Parmesan. It turned out wonderfully, and I took it to a party to share this tasty treat with others.
Wild Rice Salad 8 Servings
1½ cups wild rice
1 large firm apple, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, divided
2 stalks celery, sliced
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
Juice of 1 Meyer lemon (or regular lemon)
1 tsp. garlic powder
Kosher salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, shaved
• Cook wild rice according to package instruction. Place in a large bowl and set aside.
• In a large skilled over medium-high heat, saute 2 Tbsp. olive oil, apple, onion and rosemary a few minutes, until the apples and onions are slightly brown.
• Stir the apple and onion mixture into the bowl of rice. Add the celery, pine nuts, lemon juice, remaining olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper and mix well. Stir in the Parmesan. Salad can be served cold, room temperature or warm.
This article appears in February 2014.