Wild Rice, Chicken, and Grape Salad

IMG_1710Cold wild rice? Ya sure, you betcha. We Minnesotans typically like our wild rice simmered in a soup, but this salad recipe will get you out of your comfort zone. I recently went searching through my previous blogs, sure that I’d posted this recipe long ago. It’s such a favorite with family and friends, that I thought I’d shared it already. Not so. I created this recipe several years ago based on a salad I’d had at a deli somewhere, probably Byerly’s. The combination of chewy wild rice and sweet grapes is perfect in the savory, creamy dressing, once the whole concoction has been chilled. Bring it for lunch, serve it for supper, or share it with others at a potluck picnic.

If you really want to punch up the flavor, make your own mayo, using the simple recipe for Whole30 mayonnaise below. You’ll need to make it at least 3 hours before you start on the rest of the salad, so it has sufficient time to chill. If you don’t, it’ll turn back into olive oil once the mayo hits the warm rice. And how did I gain that bit of culinary wisdom? Personal experience gained through wild rice salad lost. It wasn’t pretty, people.

Serves 6

2 cups wild rice, rinsed and drained
1 cube chicken bouillon
½-1 cup Hellmann’s mayonnaise (or make your own with recipe below)
1 tablespoon Penzy’s Northwoods seasoning OR 1 teaspoon sweet paprika, and a dash each salt, pepper, thyme, cracked or powdered rosemary, and garlic powder
1-2 cups green grapes, sliced
4 stalks celery, diced
4-5 scallions, sliced
6 chicken tenderloins, grilled and chopped into bit-sized cubes
½ cup pecan halves, toasted (optional)
4-6 leaves of Romaine lettuce (optional serving suggestion)

In small Dutch oven or large sauce pan, combine the wild rice, 8 cups water, and the bouillon cube. Cover pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer, and cook for 45 minutes (or until some of the grains have popped), covered. Drain off any remaining water and put rice in colander. Rinse with cold water to shock, so that rice stops cooking. Let drain and cool for 15-30 minutes.

In large bowl, combine mayo and seasonings, stirring until incorporated. Add in cooled rice, grapes, celery, scallions, and cooked chicken. Toss to coat all ingredients with dressing. If using nuts, stir in right before serving. Optional: serve salad on bed of Romaine lettuce.

To make your own mayonnaise:
1¼ cups olive oil (not extra virgin), divided
1 egg
½ teaspoon dried mustard
½ teaspoon salt
Juice of 1 lemon

In food processor or blender, combine ¼ cup olive oil, egg, dried mustard, and salt. Blend until combined. Very, very slowly, drizzle in the remaining 1 cup of olive oil with motor running, and process until oil is emulsified (thickened to mayo consistency). Add juice of lemon and pulse until combined. Refrigerate for up to one week, but no longer.

Greens, Grapes, and Tuna Lunch Salad

IMG_1615OK co-worker Tom, it’s time to stop drooling over my lunch, and make your OWN salad! The base of this recipe is a fresh take on canned tuna, and was from the Whole30 cookbook. But I’ve embellished it to make a salad that I really love for lunch. It all started when we had inadvertently stock-piled on canned white Albacore tuna, and there were cans and cans of it crowding the cupboards. (Anyone else do that? Think, “Oh, I think we need THAT,” as you spot it at the grocery store, when in fact you’re positively swimming in that item already?) This recipe has been a great way to use up the plethora of tuna. You can just as easily use canned chicken—so grab whatever floats your boat! I like to make 4 of these salads at a time, and then refrigerate the ones I’m not taking for lunch. They keep quite well, and it’s a great time-saver for the morning rush.

Makes 4 salads

Whole30 mayonnaise:
1¼ cups olive oil (not extra virgin), divided
1 egg
½ teaspoon dried mustard
½ teaspoon salt
Juice of 1 lemon

In food processor or blender, combine ¼ cup olive oil, egg, dried mustard, and salt. Blend until combined. Very, very slowly, drizzle in the remaining 1 cup of olive oil with motor running, and process until oil is emulsified (thickened to mayo consistency). Add juice of lemon and pulse until combined. Refrigerate for up to one week, but no longer.

For tuna (or chicken) salad:
15 ounces (or 3 – 5.1 ounce cans) of white Albacore tuna or all white meat canned chicken, drained and flaked
½ cup Whole30 mayonnaise or Hellman’s real mayonnaise
Quarter of yellow onion, minced
1 tablespoon dill weed
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Combine all ingredients in bowl, breaking apart meat with fork. Set aside until rest of salad is assembled.

For base of salad, layer on 4 plates or in 4 plastic containers:
1 head romaine lettuce, leaves rinsed and dried, then jullienned
2 fistfuls of spinach leaves, julienned
3 scallions, sliced thin
2-3 stalks celery, sliced
3 slices of jicama (½-inch thick), cut into ½-inch cubes (optional) *
2 cups green grapes, sliced in half

Top greens and grapes with prepared tuna (or chicken) salad. Serve on plates, or cover container and refrigerate.

IMG_1614*NOTE: Jicama is also called a Mexican potato, and it is a deliciously crunchy addition to any salad. You peel off the tough outer skin with a paring knife, and then slice into sticks or cubes. Sticks can be dipped in dressing along with carrots and cukes. Cubes can top just about any salad. The high water content and slight sweetness make it a very refreshing veggie to nibble.