Next up in our Thanksgiving menu countdown? This Kale & Wild Rice Salad with Maple-Mustard Vinaigrette that I’ve been salivating over from my friend Maria’s beAUTIFUL new cookbook, Two Peas & Their Pod Cookbook: Favorite Everyday Recipes from Our Family Kitchen. The title is so spot on: it’s one of those books where you flip through, and every single page is brimming with something so yummy yet simple that you immediately rewrite your entire meal plan for the week. At least, that’s what I did.
When I started planning this year’s Thanksgiving menu, I cozied up in front of the fire to peruse my favorite cookbooks… and this Kale and Wild Rice Salad with Maple-Mustard Vinaigrette immediately caught my eye.
I’m not usually a fan of big leafy green salads on Thanksgiving because let’s be honest: they take up too much real estate on an already-crowded plate, amiright? Who wants to forgo an extra-large serving of sweet potatoes because the romaine is crowding them out?
This salad is the exception, bursting with harvest flavors, lots of crunch, hearty grains, seasonal fruit, and that insanely fall-feeling maple-mustard dressing. It’s your wild rice dish and your green salad all in one, and you’ll want to devour it. Plus, that extra-massaged kale is nice and compact and won’t leaf out all over your other food. 🙂
Hop over here for the Brussels sprouts recipe that will be next to this salad on my Thanksgiving buffet, and stay tuned for next week’s reveal of what else is on my menu this year. Oh, and scoop up Maria’s book! I have no doubt that it’ll become one of your most earmarked and sauce-spattered cookbooks, too.
Scroll on for the recipe for this Kale and Wild Rice Salad with Maple-Mustard Vinaigrette…
Kale and Wild Rice Salad with Maple-Mustard Vinaigrette
Serves 4
Kale and Wild Rice Salad with Maple-Mustard Vinaigrette
Categories
Ingredients
For the salad
- 1 large bunch of lacinato or dinosaur kale, stemmed and chopped
- 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- pinch of kosher salt
- 1 cup cooked wild or brown rice
- 1 large apple, cored and chopped (Honeycrisp, Fuji, or Gala)
- 1 medium ripe avocado pitted, peeled, and chopped
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds
- 3 ounces goat cheese, crumbled, or feta
For the vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Make the vinaigrette: In a small bowl or jar, combine the olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, maple syrup, and mustard. Whisk or shake until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Assemble the salad: In a large bowl, combine the kale, olive oil, lemon juice, and salt. Massage the kale with your hands until the leaves soften, about 2 minutes. Add the rice, apple, avocado, dried cranberries, almonds, and goat cheese. Gently toss. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad, toss, and serve.
Thanks for featuring my salad and cookbook! I hope you enjoy it on Thanksgiving! xo