Flavor-Packed Kale Wild Rice Salad
This recipe featuring my favorite superfood is easy and bursting with flavor, texture, and nutrients. I can’t decide what’s better — the crunch of the walnuts, bite of the green onions, or savory delight of the wild rice. Better yet, it is gluten free!
Recently, I determined I needed a new kale salad in my life. I found myself frequently thinking back to an amazingly flavorful cilantro-olive oil based dressing a fellow intern made at The Growing Project over a year ago, and I also felt inspired to cook with wild rice upon seeing (and smelling) my coworker’s delicious lunch. I wanted to create a meal with lacinato kale specifically — of the kale family, it has a unique flavor and texture I am drawn to.
On trial one of this recipe, I did not use the correct liquid to rice ratio, and I used water instead of broth. I also did not dry the kale well enough, and there was something missing in the dressing I couldn’t quite place.
On the second trial of the recipe, I changed some things up, and was wowed by the result. Despite the long cooking time of the rice, this meal is easy and one that I would eat often. Sometimes you just need that nutrient-dense, powerful reset that kale brings to the table. I like to make a meal packed with leafy greens at least once per week, and kale is one of my favorites.
Don’t think you like kale? That may be because you are not balancing out the bitter flavor with a sweetener — that’s what the maple syrup in this recipe is for. It doesn’t take much to create perfect harmony of flavor.
I hope you will love this salad as much as I do, and make it your go-to for occasions when your gut needs some extra love. This is no rabbit food — just delicious, nourishing flavor.
Flavor-Packed Kale Wild Rice Salad
Equipment
- Fine mesh strainer
- Medium saucepan or saucier
- Colander or salad spinner
- Cotton kitchen cloth (at least two) or paper towels
- Large mixing bowl
- Small fry pan
- Food processor
Ingredients
For the salad
- ½ cup wild rice
- 1 and ½ cup vegetable broth
- 1 bunch lacinato kale
- 1 tsp olive oil
- ½ lime juiced
- 4 green onions about ¾ cup
- 1 cup raw walnuts
For the dressing
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil*
- 1 jalapeño pepper roughly chopped, seeds in or removed depending on spice preference
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- ¼ tsp kosher or sea salt
- ½ lime juiced
- ¼ cup cilantro
- ½ tsp sweet cherry pepper brine*
- Black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Rinse the rice in a fine mesh strainer with cold water. Combine rinsed rice with broth in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Once time is up, allow the rice to stand off of the heat, covered in the pan for 10 minutes, to absorb any remaining broth.
- As the rice is cooking, tear bite size leaves off of the kale stalks and place them in a colander or inner bowl of a salad spinner (separated from the outer bowl of the spinner). Try to avoid getting any thick kale stems into the salad. Once all of the kale is "deboned", rinse your leaves in the colander or inner salad spinner bowl. Use either the salad spinner to dry the kale, or lay out the kale on top of some paper towels/cloths and pat down with a cloth/towel to absorb the water.
- Place the dried kale in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle the teaspoon of olive oil along with the juice from half a lime over the kale. Massage and squeeze the kale with your hands until it deepens in color and the quantity of kale appears to shrink down (it may look like there is up to half as much kale in the bowl as before being massaged). Do not skip this step! Massaging the kale dramatically improves its texture and digestibility.
- Preheat a small fry pan on medium. Wash and chop the green onions and add to the salad bowl. Once the fry pan is hot, add the walnuts to the pan. Toss them regularly and be sure to keep an eye on them as they cook — they are easy to burn if left unattended. Once their color becomes richly golden, or they have a very satisfying crunch when you try a piece, remove them from the heat and add to the salad. This whole process should take about 5 minutes.
- Rinse the cilantro and jalapeño. Blend all of the dressing ingredients in a food processor. Taste and adjust ingredients to your liking. Keep separate from the remainder of the salad, adding ¼ of the dressing with each of the 4 servings as you consume them.
- Toss together the kale, walnuts, green onions, and wild rice. Serve yourself ¼ of the salad, and add ¼ of the dressing. Enjoy!