Wild Rice Salad Olivo
Wild rice is an expensive but versatile ingredient. It is delicious cold or
warm, al dente, or well-cooked. A bit of wild rice mixed with long grain or
basmati rice dresses up the dish, but a recipe based entirely on wild rice is
unusual and luxurious. This salad is particularly special because of the other
less common ingredients: sun-dried tomatoes, Kalamata olives, and toasted
pine nuts. The recipe originates with Jaylyn Olivo of Brookline, MA, and was
printed in the July 1993 issue of Gourmet Magazine. The addition of scallions or red
onion comes from an email correspondence with Jaylyn Olivo, July 2003.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups wild rice, rinsed and drained
- 1 medium red or yellow bell pepper, roasted and diced
- 10 sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and chopped
- 20 Kalamata or other brine-cured black olives, pitted and chopped
- 2 T. finely chopped fresh herbs such as basil, parsley, and mint
- 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted lightly
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 T. fresh lemon juice
- 2 T. chopped scallions or minced red onion
In a large saucepan bring 5 cups water to a boil, add the wild rice, and simmer, covered, for 40 minutes. Drain the rice, and transfer it to a large bowl. Toss the rice with the pepper, tomatoes, olives, herbs, pine nuts, oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper and onions or scallions. Cool. Serves 6.