This recipe was adapted from a Faro and Black Rice dish featured in Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home cookbook. We’ve adapted a number of Keller’s recipes to our Great Lakes tradition (see here and here) and we continue that approach with this recipe that features wild rice and roasted turkey. We are replacing the black rice and farro in the original recipe with TNT Wild Rice’s Premium Hand Parched Wild Rice, processed by hand and dried over a wood fire to remove the moisture and preserve the distinct robust natural flavor. It cooks in half the time of factory processed wild rice and has a softer texture with a more pronounced nutty flavor. Hand parched wild rice is one of the truly unique ingredients the Great Lakes region can offer to the world. Yeah, it’s that good.

This salad features the sweetness of roasted squash with a light, mustard vinaigrette. Keller’s version uses dandelion greens, which adds a bitter component as a compliment. We’ve substituted in a peppery arugula as it is simply more readily accessible. To make it a complete meal, we added slices of roasted turkey and the crunch of thinly sliced Golden Delicious apple with a drizzle of apple cider syrup as well.

Ingredients
Salad:
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, neck cut into 1 inch cubes, bulb cut into ½ inch slices
1 delicata squash, peeled, seeded, cut into ½ inch slices
2 Tbs canola oil or similar neutral vegetable oil
Salt

1 cup hand-parched wild rice
4 cups vegetable broth (We use Better than Bullion Roasted Vegetable)

5 oz baby arugula

Vinaigrette:
3 Tbs malt vinegar (apple cider vinegar will also work well here)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 teaspoon whole-grain mustard
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Optional:
Sliced cider-brined chicken or turkey (Recipe here or just left-over turkey from your Thanksgiving feast)
1 golden delicious apple, room temperature
2 Tbs apple cider syrup (See recipe from Forager Chef here)

Preheat the oven to 400°F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the squash cubes on the baking sheets, butternut on one and delicata on the other, and toss with a drizzle of oil and pinches of salt. Roast delicate for about 20 minutes and the butternut for about 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and soft. Do not allow squash to get over-caramelized. If pieces are getting dark before tender, turn down the oven temperature to 300°F to finish.

As squash roasts, bring vegetable broth to a boil, add wild rice and reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook until rice is soft, about 30 minutes. Drain if needed. Do not allow rice to go dry before softening. Add water if needed.

Put the vinegar and Dijon mustard in a blender. Blend the vinegar and mustard and then, with the machine running, drizzle in the oil until emulsified and smooth. Transfer to a small bowl and whisk in the whole-grain mustard. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve, put the squash in the oven to heat through. Meanwhile, toss the wild rice with a light coating of the vinaigrette in a large bowl. Transfer the warm squash to another large bowl, and toss gently with the arugula and light coating of vinaigrette.

Arrange a bed of arugula and squash on a large platter, followed by wild rice. Top with roasted chicken or turkey and sliced apple. Drizzle with apple cider syrup.

We enjoyed this meal with an accompaniment of Pumpkin Spice Veneration, a rye whiskey barrel aged Belgian-Style quad brewed with figs and molasses from 3 Sheeps Brewing in Sheboygan, WI. Was it amazing? Yes, yes it was.