WILD RICE SALAD WITH SWEET POTATO

Since trying wild rice a few months ago, I have grown to love the nutty taste and coarse texture of this grain. When cooked with vegetable or chicken stock instead of water it tastes divine. The other night I really felt like creating a colourful salad. I found some sweet potato in the pantry and baked it with my favourite spices to pair it with. The tomatoes and baby spinach were tossed in as they are reminiscent of spring and summer for me.  The balsamic vinegar was a last minute touch and worked surprisingly well with the cooked sweet potato and the rice. Whilst the rice takes a while to cook, the recipe is very simple and low maintenance.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 medium tomatoes, cut into thin wedges
• generous handful of baby spinach, washed and drained
• 1 cup wild rice
• 2 cups gluten-free vegetable stock 
• 300g sweet potato/ kumara, peeled & cut into even 4cm pieces
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground fennel
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil (liquid)
• 2-3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

COOKING

1. Bring the wild rice and the vegetable stock to the boil in a small to medium saucepan over high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, for around 25-30 minutes or until all water has absorbed. Remove from heat and place in a large serving bowl. 

2. Whilst the rice is cooking, preheat a fan-force oven to 200 degrees celsius. Combine sweet potato, spices and coconut oil in a medium bowl and toss well to combine. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until sweet potato is tender. 

3. Place baby spinach, tomatoes and cooked sweet potato in the serving bowl on top of the rice. Toss well to combine. Drizzle the balsamic vinegar over the top and toss again, adding more balsamic if you desire. Serve warm. 

Serves / 4 

Total Preparation time / 12 minutes 

Total Cooking time / 35-40 minutes 

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