Up next I have another salad for you and this one is based on the flavours of a creamy chicken and wide rice soup! This salad of course starts out with the chicken and wild rice which I throw on a bed of hearty kale and I add some red quinoa for some colour and to add some extra bulk to the salad. Soups very often start with a base of onions, carrots and celery and I did just that and since I like to add mushrooms to my chicken and wide rice soup they were a must and the final ingredient of the salad. The only thing that remained was adding the creamy aspect of the soup and the dressing was the perfect way to do this! Since I had just finished sauteing mushrooms in a pan I figured that a nice creamy pan sauce that picked up all of the mushroom flavour from the pan was a great start and I seasoned the sauce with shallots and garlic before adding some white wine, broth and cream. The sauce would have been perfectly fine like that but I kicked the flavour way up by adding asiago cheese and a few splashes of white balsamic vinegar. This salad is amazing when served with the warm ingredients still warm but it is also good when everything has cooled down. (Even if you do not get to try this salad, you have to try the dressing! I would drink it by the bottle full!)
It was so nice and clean but then you add the dressing and everything gets all kinds of better.
Everything is better with bacon!
All mixed up!
Chicken and Wild Rice Kale Salad in a Creamy Asiago Balsamic Dressing
A salad inspired by the flavours of chicken and wild rice soup on a bed of kale with a tasty creamy asiago and white balsamic pan sauce dressing.
ingredients
- 1/2 cup wild rice
- 3 cups water or broth
- 1/2 cup red quinoa (or other colour)
- 1 cup water or broth
- 6 cups kale, ribs removed and sliced finely
- 1 cup chicken, cooked and shredded or diced
- 2 ribs celery, thinly sliced
- 2 carrots, shredded or julienned
- 1/4 cup green onions, sliced
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion, sliced
- 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 teaspoon thyme, chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 shallot, finely diced
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 1/4 cup white wine or chicken broth
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup asiago or parmesan, grated
- 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- salt and pepper to taste
For the grains:
For the salad:
For the mushrooms:
For the dressing
directions
- Bring the wild rice and water to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until tender, about 45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, bring the quinoa and water to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until tender, about 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prep the veggies for the salad and slice the mushrooms, onions, etc.
- Melt the butter and heat the oil in a pan over medium-high heat, add the onion and mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms have released their liquids, the liquid has evaporated and they start to caramelized and turn golden brown, about 15-20 minutes, before adding the garlic and thyme, cooking until fragrant, about a minute, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste and setting aside.
- Add the butter to the pan, let it melt, add the shallot, cook until tender, about 2-3 minutes, add the garlic, cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds, add the wine, deglaze the pan, add the broth, cream and cheese and simmer until the sauce thickens to a dressing like consistency, about 3-5 minutes, before adding the mustard and seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
- Assemble the salad with the kale topped with the wild rice, red quinoa, chicken, mushrooms, celery, carrots and green onions and toss in the creamy pan sauce dressing.
For the grains:
For the salad:
For the mushrooms:
For the dressing:
For the salad:
Note: This salad is great when served with the grains, mushrooms and pan sauce/dressing are all still warm but it is also good with everything cooled down
Option: Add bacon!
Option: For vegetarian replace the chicken with beans or chickpeas, etc and use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
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Creamy Asiago Chicken and Mushroom Tortellini Soup
Roast Acorn Squash, Sweet Potato and Beet Kale and Quinoa Salad with Avocado, Feta and Pomegranate in a Cilantro Lemon Tahini Dressing
This is pretty much my dream salad! It looks beautiful, too!
Sues
are your dressings and sauces in a certain section by themselves so they could be used for other salads and whatevers. It is hard to remember what salad you put what dressing with and I like some for other things also.
Everything really is better with bacon!