Wild Rice Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette

On our first heavy meat-course day of culinary lab, I made a wild rice salad to act as a bed for the cracklings and meat (duck?  pork loin?  I can't remember and I don't know my meat well enough to identify in the photo).  

We improvised on the fly when a few ingredients were missing from our lab.  This salad is a combination of wild rice, white rice, dried apricots, red onion, and dressing.  The dressing is similar to one we did a few weeks ago--but slightly different enough that I'll post it below.

Wild Rice Salad

Yield:  24 2.7-oz. servings

1 Lb. Wild Rice

1 1/2 Lb. Long Grain White Rice

4 oz. Apricots, dried

12 oz. Red Onion, chopped

4 oz. Walnuts, toasted, chopped

Water, as needed

Kosher Salt, as needed

Directions:

1.  Rinse the wild rice and place in a stock pot with 1 gal. salted water; simmer about 40 minutes or until the ends of the grains have begun to split open.

2.  Cook the long grain rice using a rice maker.

3.  Steep the apricots in boiling water until hydrated, then drain.

4.  Drain the wild rice and toss with 3 fl. oz. vinaigrette (below).  Cool to room temperature.  Add the long grain white rice.  Combine well.

5.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix the salad; toss with more vinaigrette to bind and season. Rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.  

Red Wine Vinaigrette

Yield:  10 fl. oz.

3 fl. oz. Red Wine Vinegar

1 fl. oz. Dijon Mustard

6 fl. oz. Vegetable Oil

1 Tbsp. Shallots, minced

1 tsp. Garlic, minced

3 Tbsp. Parsley, minced

Salt & Pepper, to taste

Directions:

Whisk all ingredients together and adjust seasoning to taste.