Wild Rice Salad

My mother and I created this salad together for our family Christmas lunch one year - and each year since we have rolled it out for our friends and family. The combination of allspice and orange combines perfectly with the fresh herbs, caramelised onions and currants. 

The thing I love most about it is that it can be mostly made the day before an event then easily assembled in the morning. Leaving the rice, nutmeg and herbs together overnight allows the flavours to wonderfully infuse. 

The salad pairs perfectly with turkey, chicken or salmon. 

- with love, Lucy x

Ingredients

• 1 cup each of wild and brown rice
• 4 x brown onions sliced
• 1 cup of toasted flaked almonds.
• 200g currants
• ½ cup red wine vinegar
• ½ bunch of flat parsley
• ½ bunch of mint
• 1 x tablespoon of fresh oregano
• 1 x tablespoon of thyme leaves
• ¼ teaspoon of ground allspice
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt
• Pepper

Dressing

• Juice of 1 orange
• Juice of 1 lemon
• ½ cup of olive oil
• 1 x dessertspoon of raw honey

Method

1. Add the rice blend to a large pot of boiling water. Cook uncovered for 20-25 mins or until tender. Drain and cool.
2. To caramelise the onions: heat 30mls of olive oil into a large frying pan over low heat. Add onion, season with salt and pepper and cook for 20-30 mins. Stirring occasionally until caramelised.
3. In a small pot boil currants in red wine vinegar for 5 minutes. 
4. Combine caramelised onions and currants and allow to cool. 
5. Combine rice, almonds, parsley, mint, oregano and thyme and ground allspice in a bowl and mix together. Cover and place in fridge to allow for the flavours to develop in the fridge (you can do this the night before serving).
6. For the dressing simply combine all ingredients in a glass jar and stir well. 
7. When ready to serve take rice out of fridge add half of the caramelised onion currant mixture, stir through. Top the salad with the rest of the mixture and sprinkle with almond flakes. 

Pomegranate, Cherry Tomato and Quinoa Salad

This salad is packed with goodness and flavour! Great as a side dish served with grilled chicken breast or sautéed chickpeas or you can add a tin of tuna/salmon or chickpeas to it and serve as a main meal.

You can prep the salad dressing in advance (it gets better after a day or so in the fridge anyways) and whip it up quick smart. People will be blown away by how gourmet this nutritious dish is!

Serves 6 as a side dish and 4 as a main

Salad dressing ingredients

• ½ red onion, finely sliced

• ¼ tsp salt

• 1 tbs sesame oil

• 1 tsp zest of ginger

• 1 tbs olive oil

• 1 tbs apple cider vinegar (white vinegar is fine too)

• good dash of balsamic vinegar

• juice of ½ lime

• zest of 1 lime

• 1 tsp rice malt syrup (or coconut or brown sugar)

• Place in a bowl and combine well, making sure all the onion is covered. Set aside for a minimum of 20 minutes, but a few hours of resting will make it even more delicious and juicy.

Salad ingredients

• 1 bunch of parsley (stalks removed)

• Large handful of fresh mint (stalks removed)

• Large handful of fresh chives

• 1 punnet cherry tomatoes, cut into halves

• 1 pomegranate, seeds and juice only

• 1/3 cup quinoa

• 1 cucumber cut into 1 cm chunks

• 50 g of pine nuts

Method

1. Place a small pot of water on the stove and bring to the boil. Rinse the quinoa thoroughly, and add to the boiling water, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes. Check the quinoa, you want it ever so slightly crunchy. Drain the quinoa and rinse well with cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside, allowing all the water to completely drain from it.

2. Rinse the fresh herbs well, and shake out any excess water. Finely chop, and add to the bowl with the salad dressing.

3. Add the cucumber, tomato and pomegranate seeds and juice to the bowl, then the drained quinoa and mix well.

4. Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed. I usually add extra salt and pepper, another dash of balsamic and olive oil and the juice from ½ a lime (cause I like it extra tangy!).

5. Dry roast the pine nuts over a lot heat in an dry frying pan. Turn them regularly, so they don’t burn. Once they are golden brown, remove from the heat and sprinkle over the top of the salad.