This delicious and immensely satisfying Wild Rice Citrus Salad with Persimmons is a healthy side dish that also happens to be gluten-free and vegan-adaptable. With its spectacular vibrant colours and exuberant flavours, it’s also ideal for holiday entertaining and perfect for making in advance.
This is the kind of adventurous salad I absolutely love. It celebrates grains and plant-based produce and is hearty and substantial enough to transform into a main meal without leaving you feeling depraved. Colourful and crunchy, the base is made with a wild rice blend, crunchy persimmons, and juicy oranges (or mandarines). Dried cranberries and toasted pecans both adorn and add texture, and pomegranate arils provide festive ruby-coloured accents and little pops of sweetness. A handful of blue cheese is optional but I love the bit of creaminess and extra flavour it lends to the salad. Goat cheese or feta would also be delicious. A sensational citrusy dressing spiked with shallots, grainy mustard, orange juice, apple cider vinegar, and a squidge of honey pulls it all together.
Despite its impressiveness, this wild rice salad is super simple to toss together, and perfect for busy weeknight schedules or relaxed weekends and holiday entertaining. Bonus that you can easily make the wild rice a day or two ahead, then toss with the other ingredients just before serving. Festive, fresh, and wholesome with vibrant flavours this is a salad that is anything but bland and will thrill anyone who tries it.
What Is Wild Rice?
There is cultivated wild rice and true wild rice that grows in the wild. The one growing in the wild, is actually not rice but a seed from an aquatic grass that resembles a grain of rice. It grows mostly in Minnesota and Canada along lakes and rivers and is fascinatingly harvested by hand. Because of the labour involved in hand-harvesting wild rice, it can be quite expensive but its delicious nutty flavour and toothsome bite makes it worth every penny.
Wild rice is sometimes hard to find so for the sake of convenience and affordability, this recipe calls for a wild rice blend and I am huge fan of this brand. However, if you are able to find it, and you aren’t feeding a huge crowd, I highly recommend using a true wild rice for this recipe. So good. Alternatively, you can mix some wild rice with a wild rice blend to have a little more wild rice than a blend provides.
About Persimmons
In recent years, I have become quite passionate about persimmons. They are high in minerals and fibre and loaded with anti-inflammatory compounds. They also taste delicious. But there are two main types of persimmons and you need to know what you’re buying. Astringent persimmons, often labelled hachiya, are extremely tart unless eaten when fully soft and ripe. Non-astringent varieties, such as Fuyu (also labelled Sharon fruit), are the most common kind and can be eaten raw while crisp and firm much like an apple. Shaped like a tomato, Fuyu’s are sweet and juicy with flavours that will remind you of sweet apples and peaches mixed together. The skin can be peeled but is perfectly edible (I always eat it).
Fuyu persimmons are excellent in salads as they hold their texture and colour for long periods of time. They can also be baked in pies, breads, and cake. This time of year, you can find persimmons in almost all large supermarkets.
How To Make Wild Rice Citrus Salad With Persimmons
There’s nothing complicated about this recipe which is inspired and adapted from this fabulous Ina Garten salad that I have been making for years. But even the simplest of recipes have a few tips and tricks that can take things from mediocre to sublime.
Here are the simple steps:
- Cook the wild rice blend. I follow the package instructions for cooking this rice blend and it works perfectly. Once cooked, drain the rice thoroughly, if needed. Place in a large bowl and allow the grains to dry a little. (If using only wild rice, you can find my cooking suggestions in the recipe notes.)
- Prepare the salad dressing. Whisk together minced shallots, orange juice, lemon juice, grainy mustard, honey, and extra-virgin olive oil.
- Prepare the salad ingredients. Slice the persimmons and peel and segment the oranges and/or mandarines. Add to the rice bowl along with the pomegranate ariels, toasted pecans, dried cranberries, and blue cheese, if using. Drizzle with dressing and toss to combine. Serve in the bowl, or transfer to a platter.
Tip: To make it prettier, reserve some of the salad ingredients (such as the slices of persimmons and oranges) to place on top of the rice.
Tips To Cook Wild Rice
- Soak the rice for 1 hour if possible (it will cook faster and is better for the digestion)
- Rinse the rice well before cooking. All rice benefits from a good rinse.
- Add salt to the cooking water. I find the flavour of the rice improves when the cooking water is salted.
- When cooking wild rice, or wild rice blends, follow the package instructions for cooking times but taste the rice a few minutes before the time is up. The grains should be tender but with a slight bite.
- Once cooked, drain any remaining liquid, if necessary – you want a very dry rice.
Make Ahead Wild Rice Salad
Like most grain salads, this one is excellent for making ahead. I like to assemble it all in a bowl (hold back the pecans!) with only half of the dressing. Cover well and transfer to the fridge until the next day. When ready to serve, allow the salad to come to room then add the remaining dressing, toss, and serve.
To make things even easier, make the rice up to 3 days ahead, then assemble with other ingredients when ready to serve.
Variations
- If you can’t find persimmons, you can replace with apples, figs, apricots (when in season) or simply omit them. The salad will still be delicious.
- As soon as Cara Cara and Blood oranges are available (real soon!) I highly recommend you use them instead of plain oranges.
- Add some greens! I often toss in some arugula, spinach, or any other leafy winter greens.
What To Serve With Wild Rice Citrus Salad With Persimmons
This glorious salad works well as an accompaniment to any roasted or grilled meat, or fish.
As a vegetarian main it has enough going for it without needing much else. That said, it is so good with some crusty bread such as this focaccia, or a hummus dip with pita bread.
To Store and Reheat Leftovers
Like all grain salads, this one is excellent the next day packed into lunches.
- To store: Transfer any leftovers to a container with a tight lid and place in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- To reheat: Place the salad in a small skillet, covered, over a medium low heat on the stovetop. Cook just until warmed through and rice has softened. You can also reheat gently in the microwave just until warm.
Tip: Rice salads are best served room temperature or warm, not cold from the fridge.
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We appreciate and welcome all feedback so please feel free to leave a comment and/or a star rating for this Wild Rice Citrus Salad with Persimmons recipe below. Thank you!
Wild Rice Citrus Salad With Persimmons
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups wild rice blend, I use Lundberg Wild Rice Blend
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
For the Dressing
- 1 small shallot, minced
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange or mandarin juice
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
- 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, or more to taste
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the Salad
- 2 Non-astringent persimmons, such as fuyu, thinly sliced and each slice halved or quartered
- 2 oranges, peeled and sliced (or 1 orange and 2 mandarines)
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup pomegranate arils (from 1 small pomegranate)
- 1/2 cup *toasted pecans
- 3 ounces blue cheese, feta, or goat cheese, crumbled (optional - omit for vegan)
Instructions
- Cook the wild rice blend according to instructions and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Once cooked, if there is any liquid reamining in the pot, drain it well. Place the rice in a large mixing bowl and allow to slightly cool and air dry for about 10 minutes, if possible.
- Once the rice has cooled, add the persimmons, orange and/or mandarin slices, dried cranberries, pomegranate arils, toasted pecans, and blue cheese to the bowl. Tip: Set aside a small portion of the persimmon slices, orange slices, dried cranberries, pomegranate ariels, pecans, and blue cheese for garnish.
- In a small bowl, mix the shallots, orange juice, vinegar, mustard, honey, olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Pour most of the dressing over the wild rice salad and toss gently to coat. Tip the salad onto a serving platter, garnish with the salad ingredients you set aside, and drizzle with remaing dressing over top. Assembled salad can served immediately or left at room temperature, covered, for up to 1 hour.
Notes
- To store: Transfer any leftovers to a container with a tight lid and place in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- To reheat: Place the salad in a small skillet, covered, over a medium low heat on the stovetop. Cook just until warmed through and rice has softened. You can also reheat gently in the microwave just until warm.
Donnita Deen
Another beautiful receipe to make when a crowd around the table is back!
Sandra Valvassori
Thank you Donnita! Fingers crossed the New Year brings us closer to having all our loved ones around the table again.