This is the time of year when eating roasted vegetables really starts to drag. Making my grocery list this weekend, I found myself lingering wistfully over summer food recipes. Panzanella, loaded with fresh tomatoes and brightly-colored bell peppers? Tostada salad with avocado-lime dressing? I wish.

So instead, I decided to work with what I’ve got. This recipe transforms wintery ingredients into something decidedly brighter than you’d think they ever could be. The lime juice and chile enlivens the yams and wild rice, moving them from Thanksgiving fare to June/July wannabes.  So if you can’t have summer tomatoes–or guac, or grilled corn, or…or…or–have this, instead.

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Yam and Wild Rice Salad with Lime-Chili Vinaigrette

Serves 8
Adapted from Jeanne Kelley’s Salad for Dinner

Ingredients

Salad
1 1/2 cups (257g) wild rice
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 pounds (1.36 kg) yams, well scrubbed
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 celery ribs, diced
6 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
~7 ounces (~198g) peppery or bitter winter greens, such as arugula or radicchio
5 ounces (141g) goat cheese (omit to make this recipe vegan)
Dressing
1/2 cup (118mL) freshly squeezed lime juice, from about 5 limes (this forms the bulk of the salad dressing, so don’t use the stuff out of the bottle)
2 tablespoons honey (substitute agave syrup to make this recipe vegan)
2 teaspoons chili powder (ancho is great if you can find it); or 1/8 teaspoon cayenne plus 1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons cumin
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup (157mL) extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425F (218C).

In a heavy medium saucepan, bring 4.5 cups (1.06 L) of water to boil along with salt and wild rice. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 45 minutes. Drain. (I thought my rice looked overcooked, but don’t worry, it’s not. Wild rice just opens up a bit as it cooks.) Let cool completely.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a non-stick silicone mat. Cut the yams into long wedges of uniform size–either into quarters or sixths, depending on the size of your yams. Toss with a tablespoon of olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt. Place in a single layer on the baking sheets. Put in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, flipping halfway through, until brown spots appear.

Whisk the dressing ingredients all together in a bowl. (Or, do as I do and shake them vigorously in a jar with a tight-fitting lid.)

Add the celery, green onions, cilantro and about 1/4 cup (60mL) of the dressing into the wild rice–just eyeball it. You’re looking to moisten the rice but not saturate it.

If you’re serving this all at once: put the lettuce on a serving platter. Drizzle with a couple tablespoons of dressing. Pile the wild rice on top of the lettuce, then top with the yam spears and another drizzle of vinaigrette. Crumble goat cheese over top and serve.

If you’re just serving one or two: follow the instructions above on individual, serving-sized plates.

Notes

Saving leftovers: Store the lettuce, undressed, in a bag; store the dressing in a jar; and store the wild rice and yams either side-by-side in a big container or separately in two containers. Keep everything in the fridge– it will hold for 4-5 days.

Packed lunches: Put the lettuce on the bottom of your to-go container, top with wild rice. Chop up some of the yams and place on top along with crumbled goat cheese. Bring a small container of extra dressing for drizzling. (I love to carry my dressing to work in old glass spice jars–they never leak!)