Emerald City Salad

On vacation in Seattle I had a version of this salad from a store called PCC Natural Market.  I’ve been eating lots of kale and chard but usually cook it  (and occasionally juice it) so having it raw in a salad was new for me.  The PCC recipe has ribbons of kale and chard mixed with wild rice, fennel, bell pepper and green onion in a lemon/olive oil dressing.  It was very good but I wanted to tweak it a bit.

I switched brown rice for the wild rice, though wild rice is great if you want to splurge on it.  I added some apple and dried, sweetened cranberries for a little bit of sweetness and celery for more crunch.  I also omitted the garlic from the dressing and reduced the green onions.  A little toasted sesame oil in the dressing enhances the nutty quality of the brown rice.  The resulting salad is delicious and colorful.  It is perfect for a potluck as it makes a lot.  It also holds up better than most green salads.

It is loaded with healthy ingredients and might be just what you’re craving after a weekend of turkey, stuffing and pie.  I think it could be the perfect fall salad and with a little leftover turkey on the side would make a very nice lunch or supper.  I like to make a big bowl of it on Sunday and enjoy it for lunch throughout the week.

Emerald City Salad

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked brown rice (I use Trader Joe’s frozen, microwavable brown rice or their Rice Medley which is a combination of Brown Rice, Red Rice and Black Barley).  You can, of course, start with raw rice and cook it according to the package directions.

1/2 half bunch of kale (about 7 ounces before trimming)

1/2 half bunch of Swiss chard (about 7 ounces before trimming)

1/2 a large fennel bulb

1 red bell pepper (or half of a red bell pepper and half of a yellow bell pepper)

1 apple

2 stalks celery

2 green onions

1/2 cup dried, sweetened cranberries, such as Craisins

Dressing:

1/3 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

juice of 1 lemon

1 to 2 teaspoons Dijonnaise, Dijon or other mustard (I love Dijonnaise by Best Foods aka Hellman’s – it is a creamy blend of Dijon mustard and mayonnaise and I use it all the time in salad dressing and on sandwiches)

1 teaspoon sugar

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Remove the tough stems and ribs from the kale and chard.  You can grasp the leafy part in one hand and kind of zip the stem down with the other.  Lacinato or Dino Kale is pictured below though I more often use Curly Kale.

Stack and roll up the kale and chard leaves and cut into thin ribbons.

Thinly slice the fennel.  Dice the bell pepper and apple.  Slice the celery and green onion.

In a large bowl combine the cooked rice, kale, chard, the vegetables and the apple.  Add the dried cranberries and toss together.

Put the olive oil, toasted sesame oil, about 3/4’s of the lemon juice, Dijonnaise, sugar and salt and pepper in a jar.  Close the lids and shake well to combine.  Taste and adjust with the remaining lemon juice, additional olive oil, Dijonnaise and/or salt and pepper as needed. (I like it quite lemony and mustard-y with the kale and chard, but others might prefer it on the milder side). Drizzle dressing over salad and toss until greens are well coated.

Salad will improve if it sits at least an hour in the fridge once it is dressed.  Adjust seasoning before serving.  This salad keeps well but I found it needed a little more lemon juice after being in the fridge for a day.

Serves 6 to 8

Thanks for the visit.