Wild rice, spinach and broad bean salad

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This recipe is adapted from ‘Everyday & Sunday recipes from Riverford Farm’ by Jane Baxter and Guy Watson, which is a great cookbook (not least because it contains five of my recipes!).  It is the perfect salad for late spring and early summer, when spinach and broad beans are in season. 

The pomegranate molasses really makes the dish.  Look for it in Middle Eastern and Turkish food shops.  It should be just reduced pure pomegranate juice with nothing added – intensely sweet and sour at the same time, a bit like aged balsamic vinegar.

Recipe:  Wild rice, spinach and broad bean salad.pdf

Serves:  4 to 6

125g wild rice
salt and pepper
2 onions, thinly sliced
4 tbsps olive oil
1kg broad beans (unpodded weight)
2 tbsps pomegranate molasses, or to taste
100g baby spinach leaves, washed and spun dry

1. Cook the wild rice in boiling salted water until tender, about 40 mins.  Drain and set aside.
2. Gently cook the onions in the olive oil with a pinch of salt until
   soft and slightly caramelised, 20-30 mins.  Drain and reserve the oil.
3. Blanch the broad beans in boiling salted water until just tender,
   about 3 mins.  Drain, refresh in cold water and slip them out of their
   skins (unless they’re really tiny).
4. Mix the pomegranate molasses with the reserved oil to make a dressing.
5. Carefully mix the cooked rice, onions, broad beans and spinach leaves
   together and dress.  Taste and season with salt and pepper and more
   pomegranate molasses or olive oil if needed.  Serve at room temperature.