Wild Rice Cranberry Pecan Salad

This is going to have to be a relatively short post. It's starting to get late, and school starts back up tomorrow (sad day).

We first encountered a salad like this at a local deli and liked it so much that I started searching the web for similar recipes when we got back home. This is a little different than the one we had there. I'm pretty sure that the one at the deli did not have any citrus flavors, but they were quite good in this recipe. I've got one more recipe that we haven't yet tried, so I'll let you know which we preferred. I acutally found both of the recipes here on Simply Recipes. Enjoy!


Wild Rice Cranberry Pecan Salad
1 c. brown rice, wild rice mix (I totally cheated here and used a microwave package of Uncle Ben's)
2-1/3 c. water (see package)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. butter

1/2 c. dried cranberries
1/2 c. chopped pecans (toasted or untoasted)
1/4 c. sliced green onions
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. grated orange peel
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Use the amount of water for the rice accroding to instructions on the rice package. For this brow rice, wild rice mix I used a ratio of 1 cup rice to 2-1/3 cups water. Bring rice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, butter, and water to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 50 minutes. Do not stir. Do not uncover. Remove from stove and let sit, covered for 10 minutes. Tehn uncover, fluff up with a fork, and let cool to almost room temperature.

In a medium sized serving bowl, mix the rice, cranberries, pecans, and green onions together. In a separate jar, mix the lemon juice, olive oil, orange peel, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Just before serving, mix dressing in with the rice mixture. Serve warm, chilled, or room temperature.