Spicy Warm Winter Salad

 

Ingredients

• 5 oz baby arugula
• 5 medium/large shallots, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup blanched almond slivers
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1 cup torn mint leaves
• 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
• 4 + tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cups cooked rice (1/2 wild rice, 1/2 basmati rice)
• sea salt
• Maldon salt
• fresh cracked black pepper

Instructions

• Peel and slice shallots as thinly as possible. Combine shallots, 3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a couple pinches of sea salt in a large saute´ pan, heat over medium low stirring continuously until softened. Reduce heat to lowest possible. Low and slow is the key to caramelizing shallots and bringing out the best flavor. Cook them, stirring only occasionally, over your lowest heat setting until very well browned. Add additional olive oil if needed- more is more and in the end the shallots will be tossed with the rice, any excess oil will just add flavor to the rice. Caramelizing should take at least 30 minutes, up to an hour. I start with these and then prepare the rest of the salad while they're cooking.
• In a medium covered pot combine 2 cups of rinsed brown basmati and wild rice mixture with 3 cups of water. Add a couple pinches of salt and a splash of olive oil. Bring to a boil, reduce to low and cover. Cook for 40 minutes. Check to see if rice is done, if not add more water (if needed) and cook for another 5-10 minutes). If rice is soft, place cover back on pot and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Fluff with fork after resting and it's ready to go!
• Toast almond slivers by adding to a small dry saute´pan and cooking over medium low heat. Stir often, remove from heat when almonds are lightly browned.
• Place arugula on a large serving plate.
• When shallots are nearly cooked, add golden raisins and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
• Add cooked rice to shallots and mix well.
• Top arugula with rice mixture, scatter with toasted almonds, mint leaves, and pomegranate. Drizzle lightly with olive oil, sprinkle with Maldon salt and top with fresh cracked pepper. Toss very lightly. Enjoy!