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Cherry Wild Rice Salad with Toasted Walnut Chevre Balls and a Hibiscus Vinaigrette Recipe

6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

  • Hibiscus Vinaigrette – recipe below
  • 1 Cup Wild Rice – recipe below
  • 5 Cups Arugula - washed
  • 1 Cup Cherries – pitted or whole – or to taste
  • 1/2 Cup Radish – thinly sliced
  • 1/4 Red Onion – minced – optional
  • 1/2 Fennel Bulb – cored – thinly sliced
  • 1/2 Cup Basil – torn
  • 1 Cup Raw Walnuts – toasted – ground to a crumble
  • 8 oz. Chevre – rolled into balls

Hibiscus Champagne Vinegar - You can make half of this recipe if you don’t want extra.

  • 1 Cup Dried Hibiscus Flowers
  • 1 Bottle Champagne Vinegar I used 12.7 oz. Napa Valley Naturals

Hibiscus Vinaigrette – You can make half of this recipe if you don’t want extra.

  • 1/3 Cup Hibiscus Champagne Vinegar - recipe above
  • 1 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 Teaspoon Dijon Mustard
  • 2 Teaspoons Pure Maple Syrup
  • 1 Small Shallots or 1 Tablespoon – minced
  • 1 Large Garlic Clove or 1 Teaspoon – minced
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt
  • 1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper

Wild Rice

  • 1/2 Cup Wild Rice
  • 1 1/4 Cup Filtered Water
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 small Clove Garlic optional
  • 1 Unsalted Vegetable Bouillon Cube optional
  • 1/4 Teaspoon Sea Salt – or to taste

Instructions

Vinegar

  1. Prepare this 4 days to a week ahead.
  2. Add the hibiscus flowers to a jar and pour the vinegar over the petals.
  3. Let sit for 4 days to a week. (I did a week)
  4. With a fine mesh strainer, strain into another jar.
  5. Save the vinegar hibiscus soaked flowers for other recipes.
  6. Vinaigrette
  7. Add the hibiscus vinegar, olive oil, mustard, maple syrup, salt and pepper to a jar.
  8. Shake vigorously. then add the minced shallots and garlic then shake again. Set aside.

Wild Rice

  1. Make sure you rinse well before you cook to remove any particles.
  2. Bring water, garlic, bouillon and salt to a boil then add the rice, cover and turn the heat to in-between medium-low and low.
  3. Cook for 50 – 60 minutes or until rice has split open.
  4. Every stove cooks differently, so if you still have some water left just drain it.
  5. * Unlike other rice it is ok to take the lid off to check if the water is gone, just put the lid back on. Some people add 3 cups of water then drain after.

Toasted Walnut Cheese Balls

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Spread the walnuts on a parchment lined baking sheet.
  3. Place the walnuts on the middle rack and toast until they start to brown and smell toasted about 7 to 10 minutes.
  4. Make sure and check them frequently so they don’t burn.
  5. Make sure they cool completely.
  6. Put them into a food processor with the salt and pulse until it is a fairly fine crumble.
  7. Measure a teaspoon of the cheese and roll into a ball, continue until the cheese is gone.
  8. Next, roll the cheese balls in the ground walnuts as best you can.
  9. Add some walnuts to the palm of your hands to roll more onto the cheese for full coverage.
  10. Place them into a covered container and refrigerate until the salad is ready.

Assembly

  1. Toss everything together except for the cheese balls and dressing.
  2. Serve the cheese balls and dressing on the side.

Recipe Notes

You can leave the cherries whole or cut in half to remove the seeds. I like to serve extra cherries on the side as well.