When my son, Simon, tried this salad, he said it was "fresh," and couldn't imagine anyone NOT loving it. All last week, he packed it as a side salad for his camp lunch.
Ingredients
1 cup wild rice (or 2 cups cooked brown rice)
½ bunch kale, washed, stemmed, leaves removed and cut into thin ribbons (about 2½ packed cups), or 3 packed cups baby kale, roughly chopped
1 orange bell pepper, diced (we cut it into ¼ inch dice)
2 to 3 green onions, thinly sliced (white and light green parts only)
½ cup chopped fresh parsley
½ cup roughly chopped toasted pecans
½ cup dried cranberries
1 celery stalk, trimmed and thinly sliced
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon white vinegar (any kind is fine)
1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
1 small garlic clove, minced
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Crumbled feta cheese, optional
Top with hard boiled eggs, optional
Instructions
Cook the wild rice according to package directions. When done, drain, place in a large bowl, and stir occasionally until the rice is cooled.
When cool, stir in the kale, bell pepper, green onions, parsley, pecans, cranberries, and celery. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, vinegar, honey, garlic, salt, and pepper until well combined. Stir into the rice mixture. (You can also use a small Mason jar to combine salad ingredients.)
Season with additional lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste and refrigerate until ready to eat. Add feta cheese as desired.