Wild Rice Salad with Roasted Vegetables and Lemon-Tahini Dressing

Wild Rice Salad with Roasted Vegetables and Lemon-Tahini Dressing
Four to six servings

Feel free to use any root vegetables you like, or add a few other herbs into the mix; fresh dill or something else vaguely Mediterranean or Middle Eastern would be pretty tasty.


3/4 cup (125 g) wild rice
6 cups (750 g) peeled and cubed root vegetables; any mix of carrots, parsnip, celery root, beets, and butternut squash, or other favorites
Olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper
2 spring onions or green onions, minced
1/2 cup (15 g) chopped fresh parsley and chives (or other favorite herbs)

Lemon-Tahini Dressing

1/4 cup (80 g) tahini
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
3 tablespoons water
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon soy sauce


1. Put the wild rice in a saucepan and cover with plenty of salted water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle boil and cook the rice until it’s tender, about 45 minutes.
2. While the rice is cooking, preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Drizzle a few spoonfuls of olive oil on a rimmed baking sheet. Spread the cubed vegetables over the pan and season well with salt and freshly ground pepper.
3. Toss the vegetables with the olive and spread them on the baking sheet in an even layer. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring once or twice during cooking, until the vegetables are fully cooked.
4. When the rice is done, drain it well and toss it in a large bowl with the cooked vegetables and let cool to room temperature. Once cool, stir in the onions and herbs.
5. Make the lemon-tahini dressing by stirring together the tahini, lemon juice, water, garlic, and soy sauce, then pour it over the salad and stir it in well. Taste, and add a bit more salt and lemon juice, if desired.

Serving and Storage: This salad is best enjoyed at room temperature; when chilled, it tends to dry out a bit because of the tahini. If you wish to make it in advance, best to make the dressing and the vegetable & rice mixture separately, then stir them together before you serve it.