Wild Rice & Pear Salad

With a bright citrus dressing loaded with pears and wild rice, this salad will be anything but boring for Thanksgiving! Wild rice is cooked to perfection, and when combined with candied pecans and seasonal fruit, it’s a salad that’s a hearty star!

This salad will never be an afterthought.

A salad should never be boring. We have way too many options for mix-ins, toppings, and dressings for a salad to be left on the Thanksgiving table except for the one relative who is on a diet. This salad is both hearty and full of flavor by taking notes from wild rice salads and merging them with a green lettuce salad.

For heartiness, wild rice is tossed with greens. Wild rice is not traditional white rice. Instead, wild rice has much more texture and flavor. It takes longer to cook but is worth the wait.

The vinaigrette uses orange juice just like wild rice salad does. The orange compliments the rice and adds a bright citrus flavor. This salad hit all the right notes with rice for texture, citrus for brightness, dried cranberries for sweetness, feta for some cheese tang, and sugared pecans.

Everything you’ll need to make this recipe.

• Orange zest has a more pungent flavor than the juice from inside the fruit. The essential oils in the zest offer a bright punch of flavor.
• Champagne vinegar is a lighter vinegar flavor than some other varieties. The vinegar ensures there is a correct amount of acidity in the vinaigrette.
• Garlic can be overwhelming but is tempered with the bright citrus in the salad dressing.
• Dijon mustard, when added to the dressing, works with the other ingredients in the dressing to emulsify the entire mixture.
• Chopped parsley is a classic component of many rice salads and offers a fresh, almost bitter flavor against the sweet pecans.

Here’s how to make this recipe.

1. Prepare the wild rice. In a kettle with water, add the butter and wild rice. Place the kettle over medium heat and allow the mixture to come to a boil. Once boiling, place on the kettle’s lid and boil it for 45 to 50 minutes until all of the water is absorbed. Once done cooking, remove from the heat and allow the rice to cool.

2. Prepare the praline pecans. To a warm skillet, add the butter and allow it to melt in the pan. Add in the pecans, brown sugar, and orange juice. While the brown sugar is melting, mix everything together so that the pecans are evenly covered in the mixture. After a few minutes, once the pecans are fully coated, remove the nuts from the heat and pour them onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Before they cool completely, sprinkle the candied pecans with the salt. Set the nuts aside to cool.

3. Prepare the salad dressing. In a bowl, combine the Dijon mustard, honey, orange juice, orange zest, champagne vinegar, salt, black pepper, shallot, and garlic. Whisk everything together to ensure that the honey, Dijon, and other spices are fully combined and homogenous. Once combined, while whisking, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Once all of the oil is fully incorporated, set the dressing aside while assembling the salad.

4. Mix together the salad. Chop lettuce into bite-size pieces and add to a large bowl. Add the cooled wild rice and mix it with the lettuce. Pour on about ¾ of the dressing and mix it into the lettuce and wild rice, reserving ¼ of the dressing to add at the end. Slice or dice the pears, add some to the salad and mix them in. Pour the entire mixture onto the serving platter and top with the remaining rice, chopped parsley, chopped praline pecans, dried cranberries, feta cheese, and the remaining dressing. Serve immediately.

These pro tips will make this recipe a success.

• Wild rice cooks longer than regular white rice because of the texture of the rice. But when used in this salad, it’s definitely a welcome addition. Plus, wild rice is healthier than traditional rice varieties. White or brown rice can be used in its place, but opt for wild rice if possible.
• When zesting any citrus, hold the fruit in your hand and use the Microplane in the opposite hand. This way, all of the zest will accumulate in the Microplane and will be easy to tap out into the dressing once fully zested.
• Rather than using a bowl and whisk to combine the salad dressing, the mixture can easily be shaken in a container, whether it’s a cup with a lid or a salad dressing container. Or, it can be made directly in a wooden serving bowl. Whatever works best for your salad-making process will lead to success with this dressing.
• The best time to taste the dressing for the correct level of seasoning is right after it’s mixed rather than once it’s on the salad. Take a piece of lettuce, dip it into the dressing, and eat it, concentrating on the level of salt and pepper. Adjust the seasoning to your personal preference.

You’ll love these other Thanksgiving recipes.

• Herb and cheese popovers
• Classic dry-brine turkey
• Apple and sausage cornbread stuffing
• Stuffed acorn squash casserole
• The best buttermilk biscuits
• Turkey roulade with bacon and kale stuffing
• Easy slow cooker stuffing
• Corn spoon bread
• Chipotle sweet potato casserole

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