Cranberry and wild rice salad

This is a delicious salad and a staple at our place at Christmas time. It’s very colourful and full of contrasting textures and flavours. The nutty wild rice and the perfumed basmati rice are complemented perfectly by the crunch of almonds, the sweet chewiness of cranberries and the sharp, bright flavours of orange, ginger and coriander in the dressing.

Serves 8 as an accompaniment

100g wild rice
100g basmati rice
130g dried cranberries
60 g toasted slivered almonds
2 spring onions (shallots) finely sliced
1/2 bunch chopped fresh coriander
1 knob ginger, about 3 cm long, peeled.
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook the wild rice and basmati rice separately according to packet directions. They need to be cooked separately because the wild rice will take longer to cook than the basmati rice. Put the cooked rice in the refrigerator until it is cool. Combine the rices, cranberries, almonds, spring onions and coriander in a serving bowl. Put the orange juice and olive oil into a separate small bowl. Use a Microplane or a fine grater to grate the ginger. Add to the olive oil and orange juice, season well, and whisk until well combined. Dress the salad and serve immediately.