Vegetarian

Holiday Wild Rice

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Holiday Wild Rice

Wild rice is a wonderful accompaniment to a holiday meal. This salad has ingredients that remind me of the holiday season – cranberries, mandarin oranges, and nuts – dressed in a light and zippy dressing. It is served cold so it can easily be made a day or two in advance and not take up any precious stove or oven space or your time on the day of your gathering.

Wild Rice

Start with measuring out the rice and stock or water. I generally us a vegetable or chicken stock to impart flavor in the wild rice. To keep it vegetarian, use vegetable stock or plain water.

Toasting Wild Rice

While not a necessary step, I like to toast the wild rice first. It helps bring out a more nutty flavor. No need to use oil, just dry toast the rice over medium high heat for 3 to 5 minutes. You’ll hear it popping and see it starting to brown. Careful not to over toast, you don’t want it to taste burnt.

After toasting, add the stock or water. Be careful, the pan is already hot and the liquid will bubble and pop when you first start adding it to the pan.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Cook the rice for about 45 minutes until tender.

Wild Rice Dressing

While the wild rice is cooking, whisk together the dressing ingredients and toss in the onions and parsley.

Toasting Nuts

Over medium high heat, dry toast the nuts. This step is also not necessary, but toasting brings out the nutty flavor. Once the nuts start browning, remove from heat and set aside. 

You can also peel and segment the mandarin oranges, measure out the cranberries, add the nuts, and set this aside.

Wild Rice Cooked and Strained

When the rice is done, if there is still liquid in the pan you can just strain it.

Wild Rice Dressed

Mix the rice in with the dressing and put in the refrigerator for about an hour to cool down.

Holiday Wild Rice

Once the rice is cool, mix in the oranges, cranberries, and nuts. It’s ready to eat. This can be stored in the refrigerator for a day or 2 before you are ready to eat it. When you are ready for your holiday meal, put it in a serving container and pass it around.

Enjoy!

Holiday Wild Rice
Print Recipe

Holiday Wild Rice (or Nutty Wild Rice Salad)

This Nutty Wild Rice Salad is a great accompaniment to any holiday meal. It doesn’t take oven or stove top space and can be made up to a few days in advance. While vegetarian and mostly allergen free, the nuts could be omitted if necessary.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Resting Time1 hour
Total Time2 hours
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: holiday wild rice, wild rice
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 211kcal
Author: Eating With Deb

Equipment

  • Knife and cutting board
  • Large bowl and whisk
  • 4 to 6 quart stock pot
  • Small non-stick sauté pan

Ingredients

  • 1 cup wild rice uncooked
  • 3 cups vegetable stock water, or chicken stock
  • 4 each mandarin oranges
  • 1/3 cup walnuts chopped
  • 1/3 cup almonds sliced
  • ½ cup cranberries dried

Dressing

  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • ¼ tsp sea salt
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 2 tsp ginger fresh, minced
  • 2 tbsp red onion minced
  • ¼ cup parsley chopped

Instructions

  • Put a 4 to 6 quart sauce pan on the stove and turn on heat to medium high. Add the rice and dry toast for 3 to 5 minutes to brown.
  • Add the water or stock and bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 45 minutes until rice is cooked. If there is excess liquid, drain rice.

While rice is cooking:

  • In a large bowl, whisk together sauce ingredients.

Prep the rest of the salad ingredients:

  • Dry toast (don’t use any oil) the nuts over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes until they start to brown. Remove from heat immediately.
  • Peel and segment mandarin oranges and get ½ cup dried cranberries.
  • When the rice is done (strain it if there is any liquid left), add it to the dressing and mix well. Put in refrigerator for about 1 hour to cool down.
  • Add the rest of the salad ingredients and mix well.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

Makes 6 cups

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 211kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 628mg | Potassium: 242mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 481IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 1mg

Blended Beet Soup

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I know you don’t like beets. They definitely aren’t for everyone, but I happen to love them. The nutritional benefits alone should be enough to convince you to at least give them a try. In this soup, I cut the beets with carrots and potatoes to remove some of the earthy flavors and add a little natural sweetness.

First, gather and prep all your ingredients. Depending on the size chunks you cut your vegetables in will depend on the cooking time, so smaller chunks equals less cook time. I also use beef stock instead of vegetable stock only because I like the flavor better, but use vegetable stock to keep this soup vegetarian, if that is your desire.

Prepping the vegetables is the hardest part of this soup. Once ready, add a little olive oil to a large, hot stock pot and add your onions. Saute for a couple minutes until they turn translucent, then add the garlic and saute for another minute or 2.

Add the rest of the vegetables, the stock and seasonings plus a little sea salt and black pepper. You can add more salt and pepper at the end if necessary.

Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook until the vegetables are fork tender, probably 30 to 45 minutes depending on what size you cut your vegetables.

Now it’s time to blend. If you don’t have a stick blender, I recommend investing in one. You’ll be amazed how much easier these are to use than a food processor for many different blended foods. When deciding on one to purchase, make sure the blades are metal.

If you don’t have a stick blender, use a food processor or a stand blender. Just be careful not to overfill, the soup is hot!

Blend until you reach your desired consistency. I prefer not totally pureed, it needs to have some thickness, and a few chunks don’t hurt.

Taste it to see if you need more salt or pepper. I also like to stir in a few handfuls of greens, beet greens, kale, spinach or arugula. It doesn’t matter, just whatever I have on hand. This adds extra nutrients, texture, and flavor.

I like to blend a little prepared horseradish and black pepper with sour cream and top my bowl of soup with a dollop of the sour cream mixture and some fresh parsley or chives.

Any leftovers, I freeze in portion size containers.

A word of caution – don’t be alarmed the next day after your morning constitutional, beets turn things red!

Enjoy!

Print Recipe

Blended Beet Soup

Beets are a hard sell for many people. By adding some potatoes and carrots to the beets, they cut the earthy taste and give this soup a little sweetness. Top it with some sour cream seasoned with horseradish and black pepper and you have a wonderful tasting and healthy fall/winter soup.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Course: Dinner, Soup
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Beets, Dairyfree, Glutenfree, soup, Vegetarian
Servings: 6 cups
Calories: 116kcal
Author: Eating With Deb

Equipment

  • Large Stock Pot
  • Stick Blender or Food Processor

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • ¼ cup yellow onion diced
  • 1 tbsp garlic minced, fresh
  • 2 cups beets peeled and diced
  • 2 cups potatoes diced (russets, yellow or red work)
  • 1 cup carrots diced
  • 4 cups vegetable stock or beef stock
  • 1 tsp thyme dry
  • 1 tsp oregano dry
  • Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

  • In a large stockpot heat olive oil. Add onions and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until translucent. Add the garlic, stir and cook for another 2 minutes.
  • Add in the vegetables, stock, and seasoning. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes until the vegetables are fork-tender. The time will vary depending on how big you cut your veggies.
  • Remove from heat and using a stick blender, blend until you reach your desired consistency. Taste and add more salt or pepper if desired.
  • I like to stir in a few handfuls of the beet greens if I have them or some spinach or kale. The heat will wilt the greens.
  • Serve with a dollop of sour cream mixed with prepared horseradish (to taste) and sprinkle on some parsley or chives if desired.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

If you do not have a stick blender you can use a blender or food processor. Just be careful not to overfill, the soup is hot!

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 116kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 682mg | Potassium: 520mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 3913IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 1mg