Wild Rice Salad

Spring has sprung in Coastal Virginia. It's supposed to be 80 degrees today. The daffodils are in full bloom along with the plum and peach trees.

Warm weather calls for cold salads and easy food preparation, so a light rice salad is in order. I love this recipe! It's easy to make, tastes wonderful and has about 6 servings....but it never lasts long around this house. This would be wonderful for a buffet dinner, bridal shower luncheon or even a brunch...so versatile!

I use the "Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice" original recipe (i.e., longer cooking time at 20 minutes)  for the rice mixture, but I only use a little of the seasoning packet.
I spoon out as much of the green herbs as possible and throw out the rest because it has a lot of sodium and flavorings that aren't needed in this recipe. You could save it and use for another recipe.

Here's the entire Wild Rice Salad recipe for your enjoyment:

Wild Rice Salad
1 package Uncle Ben's Long Grain & Wild Rice Original Recipe
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 green onions, sliced
tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
2-3 green onions, sliced
2/3 or 3/4 cup mixed pistachios and dried cranberries
salt and pepper to taste

Cook rice according to package directions, omitting the butter and only using the dried herbs of the seasoning packet (see paragraph above).

While the rice is cooking, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, parsley, and tarragon in a serving bowl.

Cool cooked rice slightly and add to the dressing in the bowl and stir to combine.

Add the sliced green onions, pistachios and cranberries and stir again. Taste and add salt and freshly ground pepper if needed. Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator to cool. Serves about 6 when you're not really hungry!!

Doesn't  this look delicious? I had to stop myself from devouring this bowl-full while photographing it. If you want to change things up a bit, change out the nut and dried fruit combination. Combine chopped dried apricots and pistachios, or use chopped dried cherries and almonds. Pecans would be lovely in this with the cranberries....Enjoy!