Fall Crispy Rice Salad
“Thanksgiving Day man - not a good day to be my pants.”
It’s been documented before that I LOVE THANKSGIVING. I love the planning. I love the cooking. I love sharing a big meal with my friends and family. It’s the perfect holiday.
But to be honest, the meal isn’t perfect.
Most of the favorite dishes served at Thanksgiving are mushy, crazy rich, and some shade of yellow or tan. Think about it. The turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, rolls, stuffing, any sort of casserole. There is very little texture and very little color on a normal Thanksgiving table.
I’m not saying all of those things don’t taste delicious, or I don’t look forward to a plate of brown mush every year, but there is a serious lack of texture and freshness at Thanksgiving.
That’s where this salad comes in. It provides some much-needed crunch, acid, freshness, and color. And the best part, you can make all of it ahead of time, and just toss together before serving. Yay!
There are several different components that go into this salad, but if you space the tasks out over the days before Thanksgiving, it won’t feel like too much.
Salad Prep Game Plan:
3 days before Thanksgiving: Roast squash
2 days before Thanksgiving: Fry shallots, make vinaigrette
1 day before Thanksgiving: Cook rice, seed pomegranate
A few hours before dinner: Crisp up rice, chop herbs, pull squash and vinaigrette from the fridge
Right before dinner: Assemble!!
Fall Crunchy Rice Salad
Ingredients:
Butternut Squash
1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed into ½ inch pieces
EVOO
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons honey or maple syrup
Fried Shallots*
3 shallots, thinly sliced
1 cup neutral oil - grapeseed, canola, avocado
Salt
Ginger Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons shallot oil or regular EVOO
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger, or ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
Salt and pepper
Crispy Turmeric Rice
1 ½ cups Jasmine rice
2 tablespoons coconut oil (plus 1 additional tablespoon if cooking rice in an Instant Pot)
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups arugula
¼ cup chopped fresh herbs - parsley, chives, oregano (or any other leftover herbs you have on hand for Thanksgiving)
¼ cup roasted and salted pumpkin seeds**
¼ cup pomegranate seeds
Microgreens, for garnish, optional
Directions:
For the butternut squash, preheat the oven to 400°F. Spread the cubed squash out on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with enough olive oil to lightly coat the cubes. Sprinkle on the salt and pepper and bake for 20 minutes, tossing halfway through cooking. After 20 minutes, drizzle over the honey or maple syrup, toss to coat and return to the oven. Bake for an additional 5 minutes until the squash is tender and the edges start to get golden brown.
Let cool and store in an airtight container in the fridge. The squash can be roasted and stored up to 3 days in advance. Bring out from the fridge at least 30 minutes before you assemble the salad.
For the fried shallots, add oil and thinly sliced shallots to a large saucepan. Cook over high heat, stirring frequently until the oil bubbles, about 7 minutes. Turn heat down to medium-low, just enough to maintain a simmer. Cook and continue stirring as the shallots begin to change from sticky to fluffy to a golden brown, about 25 minutes later.
Strain the shallots from oil using a slotted spoon, spread out over a paper towel-lined plate and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Once the oil is cool, strain over a fine-mesh sieve into an air-tight container. Let the shallots cool and store in an air-tight container until ready to assemble the salad, up to 2 days in advance.
For the vinaigrette, combine all ingredients in a glass jar with a lid. Screw-on lid and shake until ingredients are emulsified together. Store in the fridge until ready to use. Vinaigrette can make up to 2 days in advance (up to 5 if you use regular EVOO.)
For the rice, rinse the rice under cold water in a strainer or fine-mesh sieve until the water runs clear. Cook the rice according to the package directions or in an Instant Pot. If using an Instant Pot, add the rinsed rice, 1 ½ cups water, 1 tablespoon of coconut oil, a pinch of salt and stir together. Set the pressure to High and cook for 5 minutes, then naturally release for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove the rice from the Instant Pot. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge. Rice can be made the day before.
To make the rice “crispy,” heat a skillet over medium heat and add the remaining two tablespoons of coconut oil. Once melted, add the turmeric and let sizzle for about 30 seconds. Add in the clumps of cold rice, gently mixing together to coat it in the turmeric/coconut oil mixture. Press to flatten and create an even layer of rice in the pan. Let cook for a few minutes until the bottom starts to get golden and brown. Using a spatula, flip chunks of the rice over to get more to touch the bottom, leaving a few chunks together. Repeat until most of the rice is brown and crispy, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool. Once cool, add to a large mixing bowl until ready to assemble.
To assemble the salad, add the crispy rice, roasted squash, fried shallots, arugula, chopped herbs and half of the toasted pepitas, pomegranate seeds and herbs in a large bowl. Shake the vinaigrette jar until re-emulsified and pour half around the sides of the bowl. Using your hands, gently toss everything together, working to evenly disperse the vinaigrette. Add more vinaigrette as needed to lightly coat the greens, but not drench them. Transfer to a serving bowl and top with the remaining pepitas, pomegranate seeds, herbs, and microgreens.
Serve and delight in everyone thinking the salad is the winner of Thanksgiving.
* If frying your own crispy shallots is more than you’d like to take on, just use 1-2 cups of fried onions. They are very easy to find at the store around Thanksgiving.
** If you only have raw pumpkin seeds, toast them in a dry pan over medium heat until they start popping and smell nutty, about 5 minutes. You can toast the nuts the day before.
