Fall Harvest Black Rice Salad
Happy Halloween! I’m cutting in here to interrupt your candy consumption and bring you a delicious black and orange dinner option 🙂 After all those treats this Fall Harvest Black Rice Salad might just do the trick!
I’ve been thinking about including black rice in a recipe for a while now and Halloween seemed like the perfect opportunity! The one I used is from Lotus Foods, a sustainable rice company, I found it at my local Safeway, so I assume it’s pretty accessible in most grocery stores.
To the black rice I added roasted butternut squash, roasted carrots, dried cranberries, walnuts, apple cider vinegar and olive oil. I roasted the butternut squash and carrots in a bunch of spices that give the dish it’s flavor. The salad is meant to be served chilled. It makes an easy make-ahead dinner or side dish.
What are your Halloween plans?
It’s weird when Halloween is on a Tuesday, right? In our neighborhood there is a little block party potluck and then all the kids parade around the neighborhood before being released to go trick-or-treating. It’s cute, but all the trick-or-treaters come in a big group pretty much all at once, so it’s kind of anticlimactic.
Since we don’t have any kids we’ll be dressing Layla up as a bumble-bee (she loves it… NOT!) and waiting on the rush of trick-or-treaters! By 7:15pm they will likely all be gone, Layla will have chewed through her bumble-bee costume and we’ll be snuggling on couch watching Stranger Things 2 on Netflix! We started it last night and we’re already hooked! It’s usually not the type of show I go for, but I like that it has some humor while still keeping you on your toes.! It’s also a perfect show for this time of year to get you in the Halloween spirit. Is anyone else a Stranger Things fan?!
Fall Harvest Black Rice Salad
Ingredients
Roasted Butternut Squash
6 cups butternut squash, cubed
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
Roasted Carrots
2 cup carrots, sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Salad
3 cups cooked black rice
roasted butternut squash
roasted carrots
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup walnut pieces
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
Roasted Butternut Squash
Pre-heat oven to 400°F
In a large bowl or gallon sized bag toss butternut squash with olive oil and spices
Spread onto large baking sheet in a single layer
Bake for 45-50 minutes until squash is completely cooked through
Remove from oven, cool
Roasted Carrots
Using the same bowl or bag you tossed the squash in, toss the carrots with olive oil and spices
Spread onto large baking sheet in a single layer
Put carrots in oven with butternut squash, bake for 40 minutes until carrots are soft and start to brown
Remove from oven, cool
Salad
While vegetables are baking prepare the black rice according to package instructions
Once vegetables and rice are cooked and cooled, combine them in a large bowl
Add dried cranberries and walnuts, toss
In a small bowl, whisk together apple cider vinegar and olive oil
Pour mixture over salad, toss
For best taste, let salad marinate for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator, serve cold
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