Wild Rice Arugula Salad with Chickpeas

5 from 3 votes

Wild Rice Arugula Salad with Chickpeas

This salad keeps very well and can be made the day before. You can serve it warm or chilled, but it's best to put it together when the rice is freshly cooked and warm. The heat of the rice barely cooks the arugula. Cook time is for a pressure cooker or Instant Pot to cook the wild rice.

Prep Time10

Cook Time25

Course: Salad

Cuisine: Vegetarian

Keyword: arugula, chickpeas, Instant Pot, pressure cooker, Wild rice

Servings: servings.

Calories: 178kcal

Author: Letty | @lettyskitchen

Ingredients

Cook the wild rice:

1 cup wild rice, rinsed
3 to 4 cups water
½ teaspoon fine sea salt

Dressing:

3 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon maple syrup
½ teaspoon fine sea salt

The rest:

5 ounces arugula, or spinach or a combination
1 ½ cups garbanzo beans home-cooked or 1 (14-ounce) can, rinsed and drained)
¾ cup jicama, cut in matchsticks or small cubes
½ cup toasted pumpkin seeds
⅓ cup chopped green onions
¼ cup pitted soft dates, cut in 1/4-inch pieces
Freshly ground black pepper
Feta cheese crumbles, optional

Instructions

Cook the rice:

With pressure cooker or Instant Pot: Put 3 cups of water, the wild rice, and the salt in the pressure cooker or Instant Pot. Cook the rice under pressure 25 minutes, then immediately release the pressure. In the Instant Pot, lock the lid in place, making sure the steam vent is closed. Press the Pressure Cook button and set the timer for 25 minutes, high pressure. Switch to off and wait 4 minutes. Carefully turn the pressure valve to quickly release steam. When the valve drops, open the lid. The rice should be tender and the kernels split open. Drain.
For regular stovetop cooking:
Bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Add the salt and wild rice, cover, and reduce the heat to low. Cook until the rice is tender and the kernels split open, 60 to 70 minutes. Add more water if the rice is not done and the water is almost gone.

Make the dressing:

Whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, maple syrup, and salt.

Assemble the salad:

Once the rice is drained, let it cool 5 to 10 minutes. (The warm rice wilts the greens just a bit.) In a large bowl, mix the rice with the arugula, chickpeas, pumpkin seeds, green onions, jicama and enough dressing to make everything taste good but not overwhelmed. (You may have leftover dressing.) Season to taste with about 20 grinds of the black pepper and more salt, if needed.
If you wish, sprinkle crumbled feta cheese on top.
Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Notes

Feel free to substitute another leafy green vegetable like spinach for the arugula. Or a mix of arugula and spinach. Or chopped broccoli. Or fresh pea shoot if available.
If your dates are a bit dry or firm, soak them in water about 10 minutes before cutting.
You may not need all of the dressing. Mix in about half of the dressing; add more if you think the salad needs it.

Nutrition