Dear Summer, Please don’t leave. Love, Lizzy
If you never leave summer, I can enjoy this juicy, sweet nectarine and wild rice salad ALL OF THE TIME. Instead, fleeting summer, pretty soon the ground will be frozen solid and the perfectly drippy nectarines along with the sweetest cherry tomatoes you have ever tasted will be gone. Which means I must cram this salad in as often as I can.
So inter-web friends, are you ready to make the best summer salad over and over again until there are no nectarines and tomatoes left? Lets give it a go!
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Admittedly, cooking wild rice takes some time. AND I MEAN SOME TIME. Like 45 minutes to cook. So if you have already cooked wild rice in your meal prep you are one step ahead of the game. However, if you are lazy and don’t feel like cooking wild rice I imagine some other grains could do the trick (I’m looking at you quinoa!). Let me know in the comments if you try this and how it turns out!
But for now, let’s stick to the wild rice because:
a) it’s local! (I got mine at the local food co-op but I have found some online here)
b) it’s delicious
c) it is usually tolerated pretty well by those that have trouble with grains.
BOOM. Go get yourself some wild rice.
There are two main tricks to adding flavour to salads.
- Load it up with fresh herbs like cilantro, basil, mint and parsley.
- Use a super tasty salad dressing (LIKE THIS ONE)
Plus, adding nectarines, heirloom tomatoes, fresh red lettuce, toasted slivered almonds doesn’t hurt!
Looking for more salad recipes? Try these:
Miso Sweet Potato and kimchi Bowl
Grapefruit Winter Salad with Roasted Fennel and Avocado
Tried the recipe? loved it? Rate it and tag #sweetlizzy on Instagram and Pin it to save for later!
PrintWild Rice and Nectarine Salad
The perfect summer salad filled with wild rice, nectarines, cherry tomatoes and fresh herbs.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: salad
- Cuisine: gluten free, refined sugar free
Ingredients
1 cup wild rice, rinsed
3 cups vegetable broth, bone broth or water with a pinch of salt
2 cups sliced nectarines (about 5)
2 cups halved cherry tomatoes (I used a combination of heirloom and yellow/red varieties)
2 tbsp sliced green onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/3 cup almond slivers, toasted
2 cups greens of choice (I used a red leaf lettuce but a baby arugula would go really well here!)
Instructions
Add your wild rice and broth to a small pot. Bring to a boil, stirring often and then turn the heat down to low to allow the rice to simmer. Simmer for 40-50 minutes, stirring every so often. While the rice is cooking, prepare your dressing and chop your vegetables.
Once the rice has cooked and cooled add 1/4 cup of the Green Honey Dressing to it and mix. Add the sliced nectarines, chopped tomatoes, fresh herbs, green onions and almonds. Stir lightly.
Place the greens on the bottom of a platter and spread the rice salad mixture over top. Garnish with extra herbs and slivered almonds. Drizzle with more dressing as needed.
Notes
*The wild rice is time consuming. I found that it took a good 45 minutes to cook. You can prep the wild rice (or grain of choice) ahead of time and then this salad is easy to throw together.
Keywords: salad, nectarine, wild rice, gluten free
This salad sounds glorious. Your imagery is absolutely stunning too and making my stomach growl. Making this tonight!
★★★★★
Thanks so much Yvonne!! I hope you enjoyed it!!
I agree with you prayer! Please summer, don’t leave please!!! Your salad looks so tasty with fresh nectarines…Yummm! I love that you add wild rice to you salad, it gives a little crunchy and protein. The perfect salad to bring for a complete lunch! Thank’s for the recipe!
Right?! Summer never leave!!!
I agree with your prayer! Please summer, don’t leave please!!! Your salad looks so tasty with fresh nectarines…Yummm! I love that you add wild rice to you salad, it gives a little crunchy and protein. The perfect salad to bring for a complete lunch! Thank’s for the recipe!
Love this salad Lizzy! I’ve added peaches to salad before but never nectarines. Looks delicious! And your photos are awesome! Happy weekend!
★★★★★
Thanks so much Leanne! Peaches and nectarines are so good this time of year that it’s hard not to add them to everything!
I absolutely love your recipe! I am writing vegetarian recipe round ups on my blog in 2019 for people who are trying to make more meat-free meals (everyone has to start somewhere). I would love to feature you. You can check out my blog (for beginner environmentalists) at sunshineguerrilla.com. Is it alright if I share this link to your recipe?