Grain salads don’t only hold their own against leafy salads — they often outshine them. And you know what countertop appliance really aids in said salads? A rice cooker!
With "Top Chef" heading to Canada this season, it's a perfect time to highlight one of the country's most distinctive staples: wild rice.
The joy of the rice cooker
The rice cooker — which, of course, should never be limited to merely rice cookery — is a magical tool that has fully mastered the ins and outs of grains, liquids and cooking time. Even highly experienced chefs can find rice to be a challenge to cook: The finnicky grain can become over-cooked or under-cooked in seconds, which can ruin the texture completely.
A rice cooker, however, eliminates the guesswork and ensures perfectly cooked rice each time.
What sets wild rice apart?
While farro and wheatberries also make for excellent options in grain salads, this recipe focuses on wild rice. Though sometimes called "Canada rice," wild rice is technically a grain from a type of grass, not actual rice. And while both wild rice and "forbidden" black rice are delicious, they're two distinct products.
Grown primarily around the Great Lakes, wild rice has long been a staple in the region, primarily amongst the Indigenous communities in the Midwestern US and Canada.
While seeing wild rice on "Top Chef" may pique fans' interest, making it at home can sometimes be a challenge for many home cooks. But that doesn't have to be the case.
Why cooking wild rice is a bit different than cooking other rice varieties
Wild rice is indeed a bit wild — with a nutty, earthy flavor and a chewy bite, wild rice offers up a bit more character than your typical grain of rice. This is another reason that wild rice is such a stellar option for a grain salad, in which it pairs beautifully with whatever mix-ins and garnishes you might opt to use.
Cooking wild rice is different than cooking white rice and is more similar to cooking a brown rice. Pure wild rice is best for this dish, but in a pinch, you can certainly use a mix.
Be mindful that it does indeed take longer to cook; depending on your cooking vessel, the liquid you're using and other variables, making a cup of wild rice could take twice the time it might take to cook a cup of white rice. But there's no need to worry: Just be patient and you'll be rewarded with perfectly cooked rice.
While some opt to soak in order to essentially pre-soften the grains and cut down on cooking time, I'm generally not a proponent of it. The rice cooks just fine without it and soaking can sometimes negatively impact the texture of the final product.
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What are the supporting ingredients that help to elevate the grain salad?
This salad incorporates a bit more of a Canadian staple — cherries, though we'll be using dried here — plus goat cheese, shallots, lemons and walnut oil, as well as some chives for color and a bit of a verdant, fresh bite. Be sure to season your rice during the cooking process and then do a final taste to see if you need any further seasoning. Goat cheese can also lend quite a bit of salinity, so be sure to taste again once the goat cheese has also been incorporated.
A grain salad is also dressed and tossed, just like a green salad, so it’s important to be mindful that all of your flavor profiles are melding together seamlessly.
Temperature is important
I often cook rice in various flavored and seasoned broths or stocks (and usually a pat or two of butter, as well), but for this particular salad, I’d advise just using water with a touch of salt.
You don’t want to over-complicate the flavor profiles here — the rice should be just slightly glutinous and chewy (imagine "al dente" pasta), and you should drain it as soon as it's done cooking. Then, run some cold water over it to effectively stop the cooking process, and spread it out on a large sheet tray to let it cool fully before transferring to a food storage container to fully chill in the fridge, ideally overnight.
Also, be patient! You want to ensure your cooked wild rice is fully cooled or chilled before stirring anything together — otherwise, your goat cheese might melt or your vinaigrette proportions might be all skewed (hot rice will soak up a dressing in a different manner than cold rice will, for example, and seasoning will also impact cold vs. hot rice in different ways).
It's time to eat
There’s really not much work beyond that. Just crumbling goat cheese, chopping chives and mincing shallots, really — and don’t over-mix. You want all of the toppings and additions to highlight the rice, not overcrowd or overwhelm it. Since the rice can be made ahead, all that's left before serving is a quick assembly. Because it's vegetarian and can be served room temperature or chilled, this dish also offers up tons of flexibility.
This recipe allows you to celebrate as you please: The boundless bounty of the Canadian countryside, the return of "Top Chef," the joy of wild rice, the ingenuity of the rice cooker, the wonder of chilled grain salads — it's a win-win. I hope you love it as much as I do.
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Ingredients
1 cup wild rice
2 1/2 cups water
Kosher salt
2 shallots, peeled and minced
2 lemons, juiced and zested
2 to 3 tablespoons walnut oil
Freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup dried cherries
4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled, halved
Chives, minced, halved
Directions
- In your rice cooker, combine wild rice, water and salt. Turn machine on and let cook until the grains begin to burst and are just tender but still have a bite, about 40 to 45 minutes. You can also cook on the stove by combining all ingredients, then bringing to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat to a simmer, cover the pan and let cook for about 40 minutes. Turn off heat and let rice sit, covered, for 5 to 10 minutes more.
- In a large, fine-mesh strainer, run cold water over your rice to help cool down the rice grains and to stop the cooking process. Don't use a colander for this or your sink will inevitably be full of rice, which is not an enviable task.
- Transfer your cooked rice to your largest sheet tray or cookie sheet, giving it as much space as possible to cool fully and to ensure it doesn't clump together. When cooled, transfer to a large food storage container and chill, ideally overnight.
- When ready to eat, in a large bowl, combine shallots, lemon zest and juice, oil, salt and pepper. Mix well and lit sit for 15 minutes or so for the shallots to lose some of their bite.
- Add rice to vinaigrette mixture, as well as dried cherries, half the goat cheese and half the chives. Toss well but don't over-mix.
- Taste for seasoning.
- Finish with the remaining goat cheese and chives.
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