Wild Rice Salad with Vinaigrette

September is Whole Grain Month. This includes wild rice and to celebrate here is a delicious wild rice salad

Salad:

1 cup cooked and cooled basmati rice (or other long grained rice)
1/2 cup cooked and cooled wild rice
1/2 cup cooked and cooled quinoa
2 tablespoons butter
12 ounces asparagus, woody ends removed, cut into bitesized pieces
12 ounces button mushrooms, cut into thin slices
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds
1/4 cup chives, finely chopped
1/2 cup feta/goat cheese, crumbled (optional)

   Lemon thyme vinaigrette:

Zest of 2 lemons
1/4 cup lemon juice (approximately 2 lemons)
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
Steps:

For the vinaigrette:  In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, zest, thyme, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper until well combined.
For the wild rice salad: In a large bowl, mix together the basmati, wild rice, quinoa and chives.
In a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook over medium heat for 11 minutes, stirring infrequently until they are starting to well browned.
Add the asparagus to pan with the mushrooms. Cook over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes, until the asparagus turn a bright greed.
Add the minced garlic, salt and pepper to the pan and cook for one minute more, stirring constantly.
Add the cooked mushrooms and asparagus to the rice mixture and pour the vinaigrette over the salad. Mix gently to combine.
Top with slivered almonds, chives, and feta (if using). Serve immediately. Keeps 1-2 days, refrigerated and covered.

recipe source here 

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