• Start by soaking your wild rice blend in cold water for 10-15 minutes. This helps to decrease cooking time and leads to a more chewy & less starchy rice.
• While the rice is soaking, prep your veggies by shredding the brussels sprouts, deseeding and slicing the delicata squash, and chopping the shallots. Set aside and preheat the oven to 400F.

Cook the wild rice:

• Add the soaked wild rice blend and vegetable broth to a pot and stir together. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil. Once boiling, stir once, then replace the lid and turn the heat to a low simmer.
• Continue cooking the wild rice at a low simmer for about 40 minutes or until the rice is cooked through, chewy, and all of the vegetable broth has been absorbed. (If you skip the soaking step, this could take around 50 minutes, but always test the rice for doneness)
• Once the rice is done cooking, remove from the stove, fluff with a fork, and let sit for about 10 minutes before mixing with the other ingredients.

Roast the veggies:

• While the wild rice is cooking, roast the veggies. Add the sliced delicata squash, shallots, olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder to a baking tray.
• Mix together until all the veggies are coated. Then, add to the oven and bake at 400F for 20-22 minutes. For extra crispy veggies, broil them for 2-3 minutes at the end of roasting.

Make the dressing:

• While the rice is cooking and veggies are roasting, make the dressing.
• Add the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, minced/grated garlic, dijon mustard, salt, and pepper to a container. Add a lid and shake the jar until the dressing is combined. Set aside.

Assemble the pilaf:

• Add the wild rice blend, roasted delicata squash & shallots, shaved brussels sprouts, sliced almonds, and dried cranberries to a large tray or mixing bowl. Top with the garlic dijon dressing and mix everything together.
• Serve warm and enjoy!