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Cooking adventures in a small, closet sized, kitchen. - I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years. It was time for a change! I now spend my free time searching for, creating and trying tasty new recipes in my closet sized kitchen.

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Mushroom and Leek Wild Rice Salad

[heart_this] · Jan 20, 2011 · 22 Comments

Mushroom and Leek Wild Rice Salad

The other day when I was going through my pantry I came across some wild rice and I realized that it had been a while since I had done anything with wild rice. Thinking that, I just had to do something with it and I was thinking about a whole grain style salad. Although I had a few ideas, the one that I kept coming back to was a mushroom and wild rice salad that would also indulge my obsession with mushrooms. My normal starting place for mushrooms is to saute some onions, add garlic, then the mushrooms followed by a herb. Leeks had been on my mind recently and I wanted to change things up a bit so I replaced the onion with leeks and I figured that the green that the leeks brought would lighten the dish up a bit. For the herb I went with thyme which goes really well with the earthiness of the mushrooms. I often like to add nuts to a salad like this and I was going to go with walnuts but when I was at the store I noticed some chestnuts which would add a nice sweetness to the dish. The final component was a dressing and a balsamic vinaigrette was at the top of my list. I served the mushroom and leek wild rice salad on a bed of arugula and formed the salad using ramekins.

Mushroom and Leek Wild Rice Salad

Mushroom and Leek Wild Rice Salad

Cook Time: 2 hours 15 minutes Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes Servings: 4
ingredients
  • 1 cup wild rice
  • 2 cups vegetable broth (or chicken)
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 3 leeks (cleaned and sliced)
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 8 ounces mushrooms (sliced) – I used a mix of cremini, shiitake and oyster
  • 1 teaspoon thyme (chopped)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup roasted chestnuts (coarsely chopped)
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette
directions
  1. Simmer the wild rice in the broth on medium-low heat, covered, until it is tender and it has absorbed all of the broth, about 40-50 minutes and remove from heat.
  2. Heat the oil and melt the butter in a pan.
  3. Add the leeks and saute until tender, about 3-5 minutes.
  4. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
  5. Add the mushrooms, thyme, salt and pepper and saute until the mushrooms are just starting to caramelize, about 10-14 minutes.
  6. Mix the wild rice, mushrooms, chestnuts and balsamic viniagrette.
Similar Recipes:
Mushroom and Thyme Farro Salad
Teriyaki Mushroom Salad
Roasted Portobello Mushroom Salad with Honey Dijon Dressing
Chicken and Chanterelles on Spinach and Wild Rice
Warm Mushroom and Wild Rice Salad with Roasted Asparagus and Feta

Take a look at the No Croutons Required grains round up on Lisa’s Kitchen.

Food, Gluten-free, Mushroom, Recipe, Rice, Salad, Side Dish, Vegetarian, Whole Grains

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Natalie says

    January 21, 2011 at 12:45 am

    Brilliant, as usual! I just bought some wild rice too, love mushrooms, and am fairly inexperienced with chestnuts. It sounds and looks delightful!

    Reply
  2. NW Mom says

    January 21, 2011 at 12:49 am

    This looks absolutely astounding! Your creativity seems endless and always leaves me amazed. Beautiful.

    Reply
  3. Healthy Mamma says

    January 21, 2011 at 12:58 am

    This salad is calling my name!
    I love the combonation of mushrooms and the addition of chestnuts is really wonderful. I'll have to give this one a try.

    Reply
  4. Quirky Jessi says

    January 21, 2011 at 1:06 am

    That looks so delicious. At first glance, I wrote it off as a "fancy dish" because it looks very put together and like something in a restaurant, but I'm glad I scanned over the ingredient list and instructions….it's not as complicated as it looks! I saved this one to try. 😀

    Reply
  5. Velva says

    January 21, 2011 at 2:35 am

    A very flavorful, healthy salad. Delicious.

    Velva

    Reply
  6. Sara says

    January 21, 2011 at 3:38 am

    I love how you describe the thought process behind creating a dish. This looks fantastic and I think it would be a great accompaniment to chicken and other meats. Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  7. Rosa's Yummy Yums says

    January 21, 2011 at 8:01 am

    That is such a flavorful salad!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    Reply
  8. Benedetta says

    January 21, 2011 at 10:04 am

    This looks very good!Nice blog! I am following u!

    Go check my LIGHT and DIET LIKE cook blog at

    http://www.beinitaly.blogspot.com

    and let me know what u think!!

    Reply
  9. ♥peachkins♥ says

    January 21, 2011 at 12:26 pm

    Oh I love your photo of this dish!

    Reply
  10. polwig says

    January 21, 2011 at 6:14 pm

    This looks so good… I think my mom used to make something similar, in other words there is a similar comfort food registered somewhere in my memory, delishious

    Reply
  11. Sarah says

    January 21, 2011 at 6:23 pm

    Beautiful presentation and simple but effective combination. Lovely Kevin.

    Reply
  12. Rocky Mountain Woman says

    January 21, 2011 at 6:44 pm

    How lovely! I love love love wild rice and am always looking for a new way to prepare it…

    outstanding!

    Reply
  13. Jennifer and Jaclyn @ sketch-free vegan says

    January 21, 2011 at 7:24 pm

    Yummy! I am currently obsessed with arugula. You really feel like you're eating natural greens when you eat them. I like the presentation!

    Reply
  14. Ana Powell says

    January 21, 2011 at 11:15 pm

    Yummy and so fabulous.
    Have a great weekend ♥

    Reply
  15. Medifast Coupons says

    January 22, 2011 at 12:10 am

    After the holidays seasons bulk eating, this salad is a refreshing change. The wild rice is a great contrast to the lettuce. Wonderful!

    Reply
  16. tareh says

    January 22, 2011 at 5:13 am

    nomnomnomnommmssss

    Reply
  17. Anu Menon says

    January 22, 2011 at 9:25 pm

    ahhhh… very interesting to look at… i have everything except the leeks and im still gonna make it !

    Reply
  18. Shelby says

    January 22, 2011 at 9:35 pm

    This looks delish and very flavorful! Mushrooms are one of my very favorite foods to eat!

    Reply
  19. Sarah @ Flavoropolis says

    January 22, 2011 at 10:30 pm

    Wow. This looks fantastic. I've just discovered your blog and I love your presentation style!
    I've never cooked with chestnuts before, but they seem like an amazing addition to this salad. It's nice to see someone using chestnuts outside of the holiday season too.

    Reply
  20. Johanna GGG says

    January 24, 2011 at 3:10 am

    beautiful salad and wonderful flavours – would make a great celebration dinner!

    Reply
  21. Anonymous says

    January 25, 2011 at 12:58 am

    Just made this. It was great. I used a rehydrated wild mushroom mix, subbed in black walnuts for chestnuts, and deglazed the leeks/garlic/mushroom with a little white wine.

    Absolutely divine. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply
  22. Mushrooms Canada says

    January 25, 2011 at 9:59 pm

    Gorgeous Kevin! I love using thyme with mushrooms as well. I find my magic blend is usually thyme and rosemary. Genius to form the mushroom mixture in ramekins before plating it on the salad!
    – Brittany

    Reply

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Kevin: I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years. It was time for a change! I now spend my free time searching for, creating and trying tasty new recipes in my closet sized kitchen.
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