Couscous with Turkey or Chicken

Last Year's Post: Grilled Sweet Potatoes
Two Years Ago:  Rum Cake

This is an interesting take on leftover turkey, chicken or duck with a Middle Eastern feel.  The couscous, pomegranate seeds, mint and pistachios make it a little exotic while keeping it very healthy.  The original recipe called for pomegranate molasses in keeping with the Middle Eastern theme, which most people will not have on hand although I did for some reason (don't ask) so I tried it both ways - with the molasses and then with balsamic vinegar - and actually like the vinegar better because it balance the sweetness of the dried fruits and pomegranate seeds.

You could substitute any dried fruit for the cranberries and golden raisins - dried apricots would be particularly good - and could substitute other nuts for the pistachios and pumpkin seeds.  What I really liked about this recipe besides the great taste is that it's so fast and easy after all the holiday cooking and baking.  The couscous takes just ten minutes and everything else is just thrown in the bowl.  Make sure you keep your turkey or chicken in big, juicy pieces.  And by the way, this recipe works really well with smoked chicken or turkey as well.

Regarding pomegranates: you can sometimes buy just the seeds in your produce aisle, or they're easy to seed yourself.  Cut the pomegranate in half, spread each half slightly, turn over, and whack it with a wooden spoon over a bowl of water.  The seeds will come out along with a little bit of the white stuff, but the white stuff floats and is easy to remove from the water.  Drain the seeds and you're ready to go.  They add a jewel tone and sweet pop that's like no other.

Don't skip the yogurt because it adds an interesting dimension of creaminess and tang. Greek or regular plain yogurt will both work.  I couldn't find a small container of regular plain yogurt, so I used plain Greek yogurt and thinned it slightly with a little milk because it was really thick.  It was a very delicious, quick and healthy way to use up leftover roast poultry.

printable recipe

Couscous with Turkey or Chicken

Serves 4

Note:  You can also use leftover cooked duck instead of turkey or chicken.

1 cup of couscous

1.25 pounds cooked turkey or chicken, shredded into large pieces

The seeds of one pomegranate

3 tablespoons roasted pumpkin seeds

3 tablespoons dried cranberries or cherries

3 tablespoons golden raisins

3 tablespoons shelled pistachios

1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint, plus more small leaves for garnish

Salt and pepper

4 heaping tablespoons plain yogurt

2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses or balsamic vinegar

Cook the couscous according to package directions, then fluff with a fork.  Add the turkey or chicken, pomegranate seeds, pumpkin seeds, cranberries, raisins, pistachios, and chopped mint.  Season generously with salt and pepper and toss to combine.

Serve, topping each serving with a heaping tablespoon of yogurt, a drizzle of pomegranate molasses or balsamic vinegar, and additional mint leaves.

Turkey & Pomegranate Salad

Last Year's Post: Brandied Cranberries
Two Years Ago:  Essential Foodie Gifts Under $20

You'll probably have some leftover turkey in the very near future, so I wanted to publish a recipe for a healthy, beautiful and delicious salad to help you get back on track after the Thanksgiving Day.  This recipe is a variation on the wild rice salad I published a few years ago, with less wild rice and more greens plus the addition of pomegranate seeds.

In the pantheon of beautiful fruits, pomegranates are arguably the rock star.  Their beautiful color on the outside is exceeded only by the beautiful little jewel-like seeds, which have incredible health benefits and a great tangy-sweet flavor.

So why don't we eat them more often?  Speaking at least for myself, I've always been intimidated by how to get the seeds out.  Since pomegranates are in season and they feel very festive at the holidays I decided to man up and figure it out.  There are a bunch of videos online (just Google "how to seed a pomegranate") such as an underwater seeding technique or the far more interesting and dramatic whack the heck out of it technique.  For the second video you have to be patient because the guy likes to hear himself talk, but it's worth it.  He's so enthusiastic about whacking the pomegranate with a wooden spoon that I was laughing by the end.  I had to try it even though the underwater technique certainly seemed safer and less likely to result in an injury to one or more fingers.  What's life without a little excitement?  (OK, true confession, I actually recruited The Lawyer for this little experiment.)

You score the pomegranate with a knife, pry it apart, stretch each half a little, then turn it over on your hand and whack it with a wooden spoon all over until all the seeds fall out.  And you know what?  It actually worked!  You've gotta try it out for yourself.  We'll definitely be eating more pomegranates now that we've found this tip.

What I like about this salad is the balance of flavors and textures - slightly bitter greens, creamy feta, chewy wild rice, crunchy nuts, sweet-tart pomegranate seeds, and delicious roast turkey.  You could substitute kale for the spinach or arugula, and could substitute a different type of nut or meat to suit your preference - I think chicken, duck, pork and even leftover roast beef would work just as well.  You could also use goat cheese or blue cheese in place of the feta if you like.  The salad dressing also adds a bright note with fresh orange juice and rind that pair perfectly with the pomegranate seeds.

If you cook the wild rice in advance, the salad comes together in about 20 minutes including the pomegranate whacking.  And how entertaining will it be to recruit your holiday house guests to do the whacking?!  Think of it as having your very own little reality food TV show.  Starring your relatives.  That alone should be worth it.

printable recipe

Turkey & Pomegranate Salad

Serves 4

For the salad:

¾ cup uncooked wild rice

2 cups water or low-sodium chicken broth

4 cups loosely packed spinach, arugula or kale, chopped

The seeds of one pomegranate

1 cup toasted walnuts, chopped

1 cup good-quality feta, coarsely crumbled

2 cup shredded cooked turkey

For the vinaigrette:

¼ cup white wine vinegar

1 ½ tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons fresh grated orange rind

1 tablespoon fresh orange juice

¼ teaspoon dried basil

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Rinse and drain the wild rice.  Bring water or chicken broth to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Add the wild rice; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes.  Check to determine if grains are swollen and most are split.  If not, check again every 10 minutes until done (typically 55-60 minutes).  Remove from heat, drain, and set aside to cool.  (May be made a day or two in advance.  Keep covered and refrigerated.)

To prepare the vinaigrette, combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine, or shake in a jar.  Set aside.

To prepare the salad, decoratively arrange the wild rice, spinach, pomegranate seeds, walnuts, feta and turkey on plates and drizzle with vinaigrette.  Alternately, all ingredients may be tossed with the vinaigrette in a large bowl and then plated.

Forbidden Rice with Turkey, Roasted Squash and Walnuts

Last Year's Post: Smoked Salmon with Farfalle and Edamame
Two Years Ago:  Smoked Turkey Apple Panini

Inspiration can come from something as simple as peering in your cabinets to see what's lurking in there.  I discovered some forbidden rice in my pantry the other day and decided to create a fall-themed entree with it.  What, you are probably thinking, is forbidden rice and why do I have it if it's forbidden?  Basically it's black rice.  Supposedly it was considered the finest rice in ancient China and served only to the Emperor, so it became known as forbidden rice because it was forbidden to the general public.  I don't know if that's actually true or not but I like the story.  Anyway, I found this black rice at Whole Foods and thought it would be a great contrast to light-colored foods (think grilled halibut or salmon) or colorful foods such as the ingredients in this salad.  I always like to discover and try new ingredients that might be a little different than the norm to keep things interesting.

Forbidden rice tastes like brown or wild rice with a nice chewy texture as opposed to the softness of white rice.  If you can't find it at Whole Foods or other natural food stores, wild or brown rice would be a good substitute albeit not as pretty.  I'm all about pretty food whenever possible, and this deeply black rice is definitely pretty as well as dramatic.  In addition to its good looks, black rice is very high in antioxidants and iron so it's good for you as well.

So, to make it fall-ish I added roasted butternut squash, red pepper, sugar snaps, and toasted walnuts with a light vinaigrette.

In case you haven't cooked with butternut squash before, it's the pale-colored squash with the bulb at the end.  You probably won't need the entire squash (the smallest I found at the store was a 2 pounder, and you only need a pound) so plan to use the rest in another dish, or check the produce aisle for plastic cartons of already-peeled and cubed squash.  If you can't find it already prepared, peel the outside with a vegetable peeler, then cut in half.  Scoop out the seeds, then cut the remaining amount that you need into bite-sized (approximately 1" cubes).  Place on a foil-lined baking sheet, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast.

While the squash roasts you can cook the rice and make the vinaigrette.  The good news is that everything can be done in advance, or even the night before.  To make it a main dish I added cubed smoked turkey from the deli - one of my favorite meats for salads - but you could substitute literally any meat you want, such as chicken, duck, pork, beef, or bacon.  It seemed to want some creaminess so that's where the cheese comes in.  I used Manchego because I just so happened to have some in the refrigerator. You could, of course, substitute any cheese you like or just leave it out.

I'm calling it a salad because I don't know what else to call it, but you could serve it warm in which case it would seem to be more like a.........what?  Casserole?  Dinner entree? Who knows.  Anyway, whatever it is, it can be served warm, room temperature, or cold.  It holds well for several days so it would make a great dish for family gatherings or pot lucks.  And of course, you could eliminate the turkey and serve a nice piece of grilled chicken, fish, or pork on top of the rice mixture.  Same song, different verse.  I was trying to think of what I would call it in that event, but I finally gave up and just decided to call it dinner.

printable recipe
Forbidden Rice with Smoked Turkey, Roasted Squash, and Walnuts

Serves 4-5

Note:  The smallest butternut squashes typically available are about 2 lbs.  For that reason, look for peeled and already-cubed squash in your produce aisle, or plan to use the remaining squash in another use.

For the vinaigrette:

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon sugar

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

¼ cup rice vinegar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

For the salad:

1 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1” chunks (see note)

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup black rice (preferably Forbidden Rice)

½ red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

15 sugar snap peas, trimmed and cut into thirds

3 scallions, white and green parts, sliced

½ cup diced hard cheese (Manchego, Cheddar, etc.)

8 ounces (sliced 1/2” thick) deli smoked turkey, chopped into cubes

½ cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 400d.  Cover a large rimmed baking sheet with foil and place the squash cubes on foil.  Drizzle with oil, generously sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss together with your hands. Spread the squash out in one layer and roast for 25 – 30 minutes, turning once with a spatula, until golden and tender.  Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, place rice in a medium saucepan with 1 ¾ cups water and bring to a boil over high heat.  Turn the heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.  Let rest off the heat for a few minutes, then drain in a colander and let cool. 

While the squash and rice are cooling, make the vinaigrette by combining all ingredients in a food processor or shake in a jar.  Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

When cooled, add the rice to a large bowl and add the red pepper, sugar snaps, scallions, cheese and turkey.  Toss to combine.  Add the vinaigrette and toss again.  Add the squash cubes and gently toss to avoid breaking up the squash. 

Serve in individual bowls garnished with walnuts.

May be made in advance and refrigerated.  Add the walnuts just before serving.

Spinach, Blueberry & Goat Cheese Salad

Last Year's Post: Grilled Cheese with Pesto, Spinach and Avocado

Summer is such a wonderful opportunity for those of us who are trying to eat healthy.  Fresh fruits and vegetables are abundant, beautiful and cheap, and fresh salads seem so appealing.  But it's easy to get into a salad rut and start to get bored, which is never good.  Life is too short and calories are too precious to be bored with what you eat. (Although I do know an elite ultra-marathon athlete who regards food as fuel and eats pretty much the same thing each day, which I can't even imagine.  He's been known to do a 135 mile bike ultra-marathon in the middle of winter at temperatures down to -30 degrees, which I also can't imagine.)

I always think that if I'm not excited about what I'm going to eat then something is wrong, which is why I tend to post a lot of different salad recipes such as The Perfect Little Summer Salad, Chicken Salad with Fruits and Peppadews, Wild Rice Salad, Summer Salad with Cheese, Fruit and Nuts, Farro, Kale & Smoked Mozzarella Salad, and French Chicken Salad among others.  I'm always looking for new salad recipes and was very excited when I found a new one for spinach salad with fresh blueberries, goat cheese, cucumber, and edamame.  What an interesting and refreshing combination!  Not only is it beautiful, but very healthy as well with  no less than three superfoods - spinach, blueberries and edamame.

The original recipe was vegetarian but it's easily made into a main dish by the addition of crumbled bacon or cooked chicken, turkey, pork or duck so it's a great opportunity to customize the salad to your tastes or use up leftover cooked meat.  You can further customize it by changing the cheese from goat to blue cheese or fontina or any other cheese you like.

I think I'm usually pretty good at envisioning what a recipe will taste like, but this one surprised me.  Not the main ingredients of the salad, but the salad dressing - it has a touch of Dijon mustard that I hadn't really focused on prior to trying the recipe.  If I had, I would've been skeptical that a mustard vinaigrette would somehow magically tie all the ingredients together including the blueberries, but it does.  Try it yourself and see if you agree.

The only ingredients in the salad that are cooked are the meat and the edamame, so if you plan ahead for those two items (or head to the salad bar - my local salad bar carries edamame and numerous meat items) the rest of the salad can come together in literally just a few minutes. It's a great no-cook alternative for a hot summer day.

Spinach, Blueberry & Goat Cheese Salad

Serves 4

For the dressing:

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

Salt and pepper

For the salad:

1 package pre-washed spinach

1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

1 cup chopped seedless cucumber

1 cup cooked edamame

1 cup crumbled goat cheese

1 cup chopped cooked chicken (or crumbled bacon or other meat)

 In a small bowl combine mustard, lemon juice, sugar, vinegar and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Slowly drizzle in olive oil while whisking until dressing comes together and sugar is dissolved.

Place spinach leaves in large bowl. Add blueberries, cucumber, edamame, goat cheese and chicken.  Add the salad dressing, toss to combine, and serve.

Shrimp Fried Rice

Last Year's Post: Tomatoes!

A couple of years ago we traveled to China because we wanted to see their culture while it's in rapid growth mode as they transition to capitalism.  The pace and scope of their growth is absolutely staggering.  For example, it's a really big deal when an American city has a new skyscraper of 75 or more floors being built, but there must have been over 100 skyscrapers under construction in Beijing alone.  We were on a tour and our guide proudly told us the public restrooms had been greatly improved in preparation for the Beijing Olympics, which had occurred the previous year.  Hoo boy.  All I can say is that I'm glad we didn't go before the Olympics.  All meals were provided on the tour, and dinners were inevitably what I came to term "spinner dinners" because they consisted of multiple dishes served family-style on a large Lazy Susan in the center of the table.  Some things we could identify, and some we couldn't.  When asked what any particular unidentifiable dish was, the answer (in very limited English) was usually "chicken".  Right.  Anyway, there was always a huge bowl of white rice but never any fried rice, which led me to believe fried rice may be more of an American Chinese food tradition.

I think fried rice is something most people like but would regard as somewhat of a guilty pleasure.  It is, after all, typically fried in copious amounts of oil.  The good news is that you can make it at home and cut down on the oil and sodium while amping up the fresh veggies to make it healthier and just as good as any restaurant.  The other advantage of making it rather than buying it is that you can use up any leftover meat or vegetables you have on hand, or take advantage of whatever is in peak season at the farmer's market.  The end result either way will be much more fresh and appealing than takeout.

One of the unique garnishes that I've discovered for fried rice is shredded radishes, lightly seasoned with vinegar.  The peppery tart flavor and beautiful color are a wonderful contrast to the rice.  Although they're not essential to the dish, I would really encourage you to give the radishes a try.  It makes the dish kind of special.

There are only two key things that you need to know about making fried rice successfully, and they both involve the rice.  First, the rice must be cooked and be completely cold before you start cooking, so plan in advance and cook it the day (or morning) before you plan to serve it.  If it's not cold, the grains stick together and become a big lumpy mess.  The second tip is to spread the rice in the pan, press it down, and let it cook for a while to get a little crispy before stirring it. This is not stir-frying where your utensils and the food are in constant motion - that part comes later when you add the other ingredients.  You want the rice to have some crispy bits for flavor as well as texture.

I started with some beautiful raw shrimp but chicken, pork, duck, or any other meat would also work.  I like medium-sized shrimp for this dish because they're just the right size to pop whole into your mouth after removing the tail.

For the vegetables, I chose a combination of regular peas, sugar snap peas, and snow peas but you could use literally any vegetables you like.

The vegetables are briefly blanched in boiling water, then shocked in ice water to stop the cooking process.

The shrimp and eggs are cooked and removed from the pan, then the rice is added.

After the rice is cooked all the other ingredients and sauce are added to the pan and stir-fried until hot.  Yum.

printable recipe

Shrimp Fried Rice

Serves 4

1 cup thawed frozen peas

1 cup sugar snap or snow peas (or a combination), ends trimmed

2 eggs, beaten

Salt and pepper

3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

1 cup finely chopped yellow onion

½ lb peeled and deveined medium raw shrimp (31-40 per pound)

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

3 cups cooked and cooled brown or white rice (approximately 1 cup uncooked)

1 cup coarsely shredded radishes (about 5 large)

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce (plus more to pass at the table)

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

Blanch the thawed peas and sugar snap or snow peas by dropping in boiling water for 30 seconds, then drain and immediately submerge in ice water.  Drain again.  Cut the sugar snaps or snow peas into ½ inch pieces.  Set aside.

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, then add one tablespoon of oil.  Add a pinch of salt and pepper to the beaten eggs, then add them to the pan and swirl to coat.  Cook for 30 to 45 seconds, then turn the eggs over and cook for another 10 seconds.  Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add ½ tablespoon of oil to the pan, then add the onion.  Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes.  Add the shrimp and cook, stirring, until almost cooked through, another 3 to 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and return the skillet to the heat.

Add the remaining 1 ½ tablespoons of oil to the skillet, then add the rice, pressing it flat with the back of a nonstick pan-safe spatula.  Cook until the rice is slightly crispy, turning it over with the spatula, about 8 to 10 minutes.

While the rice is cooking, combine the radishes and vinegar in a small bowl.  In a second small bowl, combine the soy sauce and sesame oil.  Chop the egg and add it along with the peas and sugar snap or snow peas to the bowl with the shrimp.

When the rice is nicely crisped, add the contents of the shrimp bowl and the soy sauce mixture to the skillet and cook, stirring, until the mixture is heated through.  Serve in bowls and top with radishes.

Serve with extra soy sauce on the side.

Wild Rice Salad

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I started laughing the other day when I was flipping through my recipes and realized I have somewhere around 10 different wild rice salad recipes, not to mention recipes for wild rice side dishes, waffles, soup and other items.  Then and there I decided to crown myself the Wild Rice Queen.  Apparently it stuck somewhere in my subconscious because during a three hour bout of carb-and-sugar induced Thanksgiving night insomnia I mentally composed this entire post, complete with visuals.  It made me happy but did nothing for the insomnia.  I even toyed briefly with trying to create the entire post and publish it the next day, but I didn't think I could do it justice that quickly.  Wild rice is too important.  :)  So, my apologies to those of you who had too many leftover turkey sandwiches that really could have used this recipe instead.  Print it out now, so you'll have it ready for other holiday leftovers yet to come.

Wild rice likes to grow in a cold environment, so the primary producers are Minnesota (domestically) and Canada (internationally). If you didn't grow up in the Great White North you might not be familiar with it. I think of it as the northern answer to grits.  Having always been somewhat skeptical about the virtue of grits (aka "white dirt"), I was assured by my new southern friend Charline that I would love her recipe for Tomato Cheese Grits.  OK Charline, back at ya.  You try mine and I'll try yours!

Wild rice is actually not a rice, but the seed of a grass that grows in shallow lakes.  High in protein, lysine and fiber, low in fat and gluten-free, wild rice is the Cadillac of rices, which is one reason why you won't find it very often on restaurant menus.  Even when you do find a dish listed as wild rice, it will often be a mixture of white and brown rice with some wild rice added in.  One of the reasons that wild rice is more expensive than white or brown rice is because it's more difficult to grow and harvest.  Traditional Native American harvesting is done from a canoe using a long stick to bend the grasses down and shake the seeds into the canoe.  Not exactly high volume.  The wild rice produced in Canada tends to be harvested commercially and therefore is less expensive, but I can't tell any difference in taste or texture so that's the version I buy (it's really not that expensive).  If you happen across small boxes labeled "instant" wild rice, I wouldn't recommend buying them.  It might seem less expensive but that's only because the box contains a small amount.  And the pre-cooking and drying that are required to make it instant means the grains are softer and mushier when re-cooked.  Wild rice is definitely not supposed to be soft and mushy.

To enjoy a 100% wild rice dish is a unique taste experience - earthy, nutty, very flavorful and chewy.  Wild rice makes a great winter salad for those reasons compared to the light and delicate lettuce salads of summer.  The rice makes a great palate for virtually any kind of leftover meat - smoked or roasted turkey, pork, chicken, beef, or even duck and pheasant. Of course, you don't need to wait for leftover meat - you could always buy a rotisserie chicken or a thick piece of smoked turkey at the deli. We recently purchased a smoked pheasant from a local grower and I'm already dreaming of a smoked pheasant, wild rice and fresh cherry salad.  Yum!  Besides a wide variety of meats, wild rice goes very well with a wide variety of fruits, nuts, and vegetables.  Looking over my recipes I noticed certain similarities so for the first time in my blogger life I'm going to give you what I call a master recipe with variations.  (See what insomnia can do to you?)

But first we need to talk about cooking wild rice, which is slightly different than cooking white or brown rice.  Wild rice recipes will invariably give you a set time to cook, which is misleading.  In my experience that hardness of wild rice can vary from producer to producer or from year to year.  My advice is to cook for a shorter amount of time than recommended and then start checking.  I saw a visual a few years ago that led me to conclude I had probably been over-cooking my wild rice, so I thought I'd re-create it here.  First you need to rinse your rice (remember it hasn't been as processed as white or brown rice).

Here's what uncooked rice looks like.

Here's what properly cooked rice looks like - the grains are swollen and most have started to split.

Here's what overcooked rice looks like - most of the grains are split wide open and starting to curl.

My source recipe called for cooking the rice for 60 minutes.  I started checking after 45 minutes and concluded the rice was properly cooked at 55 minutes.  The visual of overcooked rice was taken at 70 minutes.  Most of the time it will take 55-60 minutes for properly cooked rice, but I've had it take as long as 70 minutes and as little as 50 minutes.

Most recipes will call for cooking wild rice in water, but I usually use low-sodium chicken broth for added flavor.  Don't expect that all the liquid will be absorbed, you'll just strain it after cooking instead.  Note that the wild rice can be prepared in advance and refrigerated, so this would be a quick salad to toss together after work.

Ok, so now that you have the rice cooked, here are two concepts for a master recipe.

            Elements Common to Both:
            wild rice
            meat - turkey, pork, chicken, beef, duck, pheasant
            chopped spinach or arugula
            toasted nuts - walnuts, pecans or almonds

                              - plus -

             V1:  Fruity                                                     
             fruity vinaigrette                                            
             fresh fruit - grapes, cherries, oranges, blueberries, etc.
             crumbled fresh cheese - blue, goat, etc.         

                              - or -

              V2: Vegetable-y
              mustard and garlic vinaigrette
              fresh vegetables - sugar snap peas, red pepper, etc.
              avocado chunks or crumbled cheese


I'll go into more detailed instructions and measurements in the recipe(s) below.  Yikes!  This is a long post.  I told The Lawyer I had to get it out of my head so I could get some sleep.  There was way too much content on my mental clipboard.  :-)

* * click here for a printable recipe version * *

Wild Rice Salad

Serves 4-5

Master Recipe Ingredients:

2 cups water or low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup uncooked wild rice
3 cups cooked turkey, chicken, pork, beef, duck or pheasant, cut into bite-sized cubes
2 cups chopped spinach or arugula
½ cup toasted pecans or walnuts (coarsely chopped) or toasted slivered almonds

 - plus -

Fruity Version:

¼ cup champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
1.5 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
2 teaspoons fresh orange rind
¼ teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
¼ cup dried cranberries
1 cup fresh fruit (halved grapes, blueberries, halved pitted cherries, etc.)
1/2 cup crumbled blue or goat cheese

- or –

Vegetable-y Version:

2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 green onions, sliced
½ red pepper, diced
2 oz sugar snap peas, cut into 1” pieces
1 ripe avocado, peeled and cut into chunks (or ½ cup crumbled blue cheese)

Rinse and drain the wild rice.  Bring water or broth to boil in a medium saucepan.  Add the wild rice; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes.  Check to determine if grains are swollen and most are split.  If not, check again every ten minutes until done (typically 55-60 minutes total).  Remove from heat, drain, and set aside to cool. (May be prepared up to two days in advance.  Keep covered and refrigerated.)

To prepare the vinaigrette, combine the first 8 ingredients from the fruit version or the first 7 ingredients from the vegetable version in a food processor or shake in a jar.

Combine the cooled wild rice, meat, spinach or arugula and (version1) fruits or (version 2) vegetables (not the crumbled cheese, avocado or toasted nuts) in a large bowl.  Add the vinaigrette and toss well.  Serve topped with toasted nuts and avocado or crumbled cheese.