Cherry, Wild Rice & Quinoa Salad

Name: Cherry, Wild Rice & Quinoa Salad
Total time: 1 h
Ingredients: ¾ cup wild rice; 1/2 cup quinoa (see Tips), rinsed if necessary; ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil; ¼ cup fruity vinegar, such as raspberry or pomegranate; ¾ teaspoon salt; ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper; 2 cups halved pitted fresh sweet cherries (see Tips); 2 stalks celery, diced; ¾ cup diced aged goat cheese, smoked Cheddar or other smoked cheese; 1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted (see Tips)

Rating: 4.67 stars

9 Ratings
5 Reviews

This whole-grain wild rice and quinoa salad recipe is perfect for toting to summer potlucks. It features sweet cherries, crunchy celery, nutty aged goat cheese and toasted pecans. If you can find red quinoa, it's particularly pretty.

Carolyn Malcoun

Source: EatingWell Magazine, May/June 2012

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Recipe Summary

total:

1 hr

Servings:

Nutrition Profile:

Nutrition Info

Directions

Step 1
Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Add wild rice and cook for 30 minutes. Add quinoa and cook until the rice and quinoa are tender, about 15 minutes more. Drain and rinse with cold water until cool to the touch; drain well.

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Step 2
Meanwhile, whisk oil, vinegar, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the rice and quinoa, cherries, celery, cheese and pecans and toss to combine. Serve at room temperature or cold.

Tips

Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate for up to 4 hours.

Tips: Although quinoa--a grain that was a staple in the ancient Incas' diet--was once only found in natural-foods stores, it's now readily available at most large supermarkets and even warehouse stores. Rinsing removes any residue of saponin, quinoa's natural, bitter protective covering. Most quinoa is sold already rinsed; check the label.

To pit fresh cherries, use a tool made for the job--a hand-held cherry pitter; it also works for olives! Or pry out the pit with the tip of a knife or vegetable peeler.

Toast chopped or sliced nuts in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes. Spread whole nuts on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F, stirring once, until fragrant, 7 to 9 minutes.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: about 3/4 cup

Per Serving:

282 calories; protein 8g; carbohydrates 27.2g; dietary fiber 3.5g; sugars 6.5g; fat 16.3g; saturated fat 3.9g; cholesterol 10.2mg; vitamin a iu 247.1IU; vitamin c 3.1mg; folate 42.1mcg; calcium 108.2mg; iron 1.4mg; magnesium 59mg; potassium 265mg; sodium 272.1mg; thiamin 0.1mg.

Exchanges:

1 1/2 starch, 1/2 fruit, 1/2 high fat meat, 2 1/2 fat

Reviews (5)

Read More Reviews

9 Ratings

5 star values: 6
4 star values: 3
3 star values: 0
2 star values: 0
1 star values: 0

Reviews: Most Helpful

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EatingWell User

09/03/2014

amazing! used some substititions. i used dried cherries amd added at very end of rice/quinoa cooking time- then drained. used blue cheese a mix of toasted mixed nuts and grapefruite white balsamic vinegar. it was delicious! Pros: easy and delicious Read More

Josmac

12/30/2016

I substituted fresh cherries for dried sour cherries which I soaked in coconut vinegar overnight. It was delicious and friends wanted the recipee. Read More

EatingWell User

05/20/2012

wonderful textures and blend of flavors I made this recipe as described but made the following changes - fresh cherries aren't in season yet so I thawed frozen cherries; used a cherry balsamic vinegar; and I had romano feta instead of smoked cheese. I'm looking forward to adding fresh cherries instead of frozen since the crispness of fresh cherries will add more crunch. I will also add an extra stalk of celery to add to the textures. The flavors are really wonderful and I like the creaminess and slight tang of the feta. My only negative is that there could be a little less oil; next time I'm going to drop it down to 3 Tbsp. Oh and that it's way too easy to eat the entire bowl it's so tasty. Pros: easy quick Cons: cherries can be hard to find Read More

EatingWell User

08/27/2012

Big hit I wanted to make this the moment I saw the recipe. I followed it as directed and it was a huge hit at a party. Several people have asked for the recipe. The flavors work well together and the texture is very satisfying. Pros: NULL Cons: NULL Read More

Indigo30

03/02/2019

I loved it. I used frozen cherries available in Target that I had to halve manually. I should have thawed cherries completely and drained because it was quite leaky with cherry juice.i used unsalted roasted sunflower seeds and smoked gouda. Read More

EatingWell User

08/27/2013

Autumn in a Bowl This salad tastes like autumn in a bowl. I didn't used celery because I don't like raw celery and for the fruity vinegar I used apple cider vinegar. I think red wine vinegar would be good too. I think this salad would be a great addition to our Thanksgiving potluck. Pros: easy hearty Read More

EatingWell User

08/01/2013

One of my favorite summer salads Love this salad and have made it several times. I use manchego cheese instead of goat cheese and I don't put any nuts into the salad. Instead I'll offer nuts on the side preferring pistachio or pignoli. This way the leftover salad (if there is any) can still have crunchy nuts sprinkled on top. Read More

orangek8@gmail.com

05/29/2012

Totally delicious! This recipe was so good!! It's deliciously nutty and chewy with fresh cherries throughout. I doubled the amount of celery cut back on the oil by a bit and just used regular goat cheese. I made it for two different parties this weekend and everyone loved it! Pros: Easy delicious fresh different Read More

Cristal

12/24/2017

Did not use cherries I used raspberries instead (what I had fresh). Added kale and doubled the recipe and was a huge success! For a party of 10 it all disappeared and everyone wanted the recipe. Thank you! This is going to be my new dish for every party and pot luck. Can't wait to try with fresh cherries! Read More