Forbidden Rice Pumpkin Salad with Blood Orange Vinaigrette
 
 
Author:
Serves: 2 as a meal, 3-4 as a side
Ingredients
  • 1 cup cooked black forbidden rice
  • 2 cups cubed pumpkin or butternut squash
  • 2 cups baby salad greens
  • ¼ cup pomegranate seeds
  • ¼ cup feta cheese
  • ¼ cup toasted pepitas
blood orange vinaigrette:
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
  • Juice of ½ a blood orange
  • ¼ teaspoon cumin
  • ¼ teaspoon coriander
  • Pinch of cinnamon
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Toss cubed pumpkin/squash with a bit of olive oil, salt & pepper. Spread on a baking sheet and roast until golden brown around the edges (25-30 mins depending on your squash).
  3. Make your vinaigrette by whisking together the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, blood orange juice, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings.
  4. Toss the cooked rice with the roasted pumpkin cubes, salad greens, dressing (as much or little as you like), pomegranate seeds, feta, and pepitas. Taste and adjust seasonings & serve.
Notes
cook rice: ½ cup rice to 1 cup water. (I use a rice cooker on the brown rice setting). Add more water if it evaporates and the rice is not yet soft.

I buy my black rice in the bulk section of my Whole Foods or Wheatsville Coop. If you can't find black rice, sub in quinoa (you can even get black quinoa if you're going for color).

Regular oranges can be substituted for blood oranges.
Recipe by Love and Lemons at https://www.loveandlemons.com/forbidden-rice-pumpkin-salad/