Wild Rice Salad with Pineapple and Grapes
Wild Rice Salad with Pineapple and Grapes
The flavors and colors of autumn shine through in this whole-grain rice salad – perfectly suited for your Thanksgiving Day table.
It’s the third and final week of my Thanksgiving Day side dish recipe feature. Two weeks ago, I kicked things off with a Sweet Potato Casserole, followed by last week’s recipe for Ginger-Glazed Carrots. Today, it’s a Wild Rice Salad with Pineapple and Grapes.
What I love about this side dish is that it goes from the refrigerator to the dinner table. It’s a definite make-a-day-ahead recipe as the rice needs time to absorb the sweet and savory dressing.
You may notice a variety of multi-grain and rice blends at your grocery store. They typically contain combinations of whole grains such as brown rice, barley, spelt, farro, millet, bulgur, wild rice, quinoa, and wheat berries.
I used a rice blend with wild, brown, red, and black rice. Wild rice, also known as Indian rice, isn’t a true rice but rather the seed of a marsh grass. It has a nutty flavor and slightly chewy texture. Interestingly, because it’s a seed, wild rice contains more protein than many other types of grains.
The remaining grains in my rice blend (brown, red, and black rice), are all whole grains because the fiber-rich bran coating on the rice remains intact. What’s unique about red and black rice is they both contain phytochemicals called anthocyanins.
Phytochemicals are protective, naturally occurring compounds found in plant foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Their job is to strengthen a plant’s immune system. When eaten, these same phytochemicals may protect our bodies from damage that could lead to chronic diseases, such as cancer and heart disease. Anthocyanins, which give plant foods their vibrant red, blue, and purple hues, may help dilate arteries, make blood vessels more elastic, help lower blood pressure, and reduce inflammation.
Red rice, sometimes called Bhutanese red rice or cargo rice, has a nutty flavor and fragrant aroma similar to Basmati rice. It has the same chewy texture as brown rice, and its brick-red color will fade slightly once cooked.
The color of black rice, also referred to as forbidden rice, is actually very dark purple. Its taste and texture are similar to brown rice, but it contains a lot more dietary fiber (8 grams of fiber in a 1/2 cup uncooked black rice compared to 3 grams of fiber in brown rice).
To your health,
Darlene
WILD RICE SALAD with PINEAPPLE and GRAPES
Yield: 7 servings
Serving Size: 1/2 cup
Prep: 15 minutes
Ready: 1 hour
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup dry wild rice blend
1 1/2 cups water
1 can (8 ounce) pineapple tidbits packed in pineapple juice
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup red grapes, cut in half
1/2 cup diced celery
1/3 cup sliced green onion (tops and bulbs)
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley, divided
1/4 cup pecan halves, toasted and roughly chopped
DIRECTIONS
Prepare rice blend according to package directions using 1 1/2 cups water and omitting salt, butter, or oil if called for. Once rice is cooked, place in a fine-mesh strainer and rinse under cold water. Drain well.
To prepare dressing, strain pineapple tidbits and reserve the pineapple juice from the can. Add reserved pineapple juice (should be 1/3 cup juice) to a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Add oil, vinegar, maple syrup, salt, and pepper. Seal jar and shake until well combined.
To a large bowl, add drained rice, pineapple tidbits, grapes, celery, green onion, 3 tablespoons parsley, and dressing; stir to combine. Cover rice salad and refrigerate overnight. When ready to serve, place rice salad in a serving bowl and garnish top with pecans and remaining parsley.
Nutrition Information per Serving
133 Calories, 5 g Total fat, 0 g Saturated fat, 0 g Trans fat, 0 mg Cholesterol, 148 mg Sodium, 20 g Total carbohydrate, 2 g Dietary fiber, 9 g Total sugars, 2 g Added sugars, 2 g Protein, 0 mcg (0%) Vitamin D, 16 mg (2%) Calcium, 1 mg (6%) Iron, 138 mg (2%) Potassium
© 2022 RECIPES MADE HEALTHY BY DARLENE ZIMMERMAN, MS, RD LLC
