Gathering friends and family together to celebrate the 4th of July sometimes calls for traditional barbecue, corn on the cob, and slices of cold watermelon. I like to bring new dishes to the table each year, a kind of culinary celebration of independence. This unusual salad, which combines moist chicken, wild and brown rice, bell pepper, and blueberries matches the requirement for patriotic colors and soars in flavor.
Ironically, I’ve created this most-American salad with help from a recipe developed by British food writer, Diana Henry. Henry writes a food column for the Sunday Telegraph and has also published several praiseworthy cookbooks. This salad is based upon one in Plenty: Good, Uncomplicated Food for the Sustainable Kitchen, a volume in which Henry presents ideas for cooking amazing dishes from simple ingredients.
Henry’s recipe calls for cooking a wild, basmati, and red rice mixture in chicken broth as a first step. While this mix of rices is readily available in many supermarkets now, I had plain wild rice and plain brown rice in my pantry, so I cooked those as the base. I subbed in pecans for the suggested almonds or pistachios, and I added red bell pepper slices so the salad could fly our flag’s colors.
This dish is easy to make ahead: the rices can marinate in their dressing at room temperature. You can use chicken or turkey left over from another meal, buy a deli-prepared chicken, or cook poultry on your own. With the meat diced and the vegetables and nuts chopped, all you need to do before serving is toss the ingredients with fresh spinach leaves and a bit more dressing.
We loved the nutty base of the rices mixed with the moist chicken pieces and the sweet pop of blueberries. This salad refrigerates well, but should be brought to room temperature for a few minutes before serving.
Happy Independence Day!
Red, White and Blueberry Chicken Salad
Sunnyside Cook
Ingredients
For the salad
- 1 cup brown rice
- 2/3 cup wild rice [see recipe instructions for alternative rice approach]
- 5 cups leftover cooked chicken or turkey torn or cut into bite-size strips
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced red bell pepper
- 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
- 4 handfuls of fresh blueberries
- 8 ounces baby spinach or arugula leaves
For the dressing
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup canola or peanut oil
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Cook the rices according to package directions. (I cooked the brown rice about 40 minutes and the wild rice 45 minutes--separately--and then combined the two.) [Or substitute 1 2/3 cups wild, red, and basmati rice mixture and cook in 2 1/2 cups chicken stock according to the rice’s package directions.)
- While the rice is cooking, make the dressing. Combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until mixed together.
- When the rice is cooked, move it to a large bowl and pour half of the dressing on it. Mix the grains and dressing well. Do this while the rice is warm so that it can absorb the flavors of the dressing as much as possible. Leave at room temperature to cool.
- Toss the rice mixture with the other ingredients (except for the spinach) with the remaining dressing. Taste for seasoning, as rice salads frequently need more salt and pepper.
- Right before serving either toss the rice and chicken salad with the spinach leaves and serve --or serve a heaping scoop of the rice and chicken salad over a bed of spinach leaves.
This looks delicious. It reminds me of a Jane Brody recipe with turkey and wild rice mix that I used to make a lot! Perhaps that recipe needs to be updated with blueberries rather than the cranberries that I, of course, used. Hope you are enjoying your summer. We could use some of that Denver cool right now!
Yum! Love the patriotic colors, and the nod to your culinary tradition of independence and bringing new dishes to the table. This one looks delicious!