Grains & Greens Salad
There’s no true recipe for this robust green meal, but keep a few rules in mind. Skip the soft lettuces, which tend to get squashed in a big salad, and start with sturdier greens, like kale or escarole. Add fruits and vegetables, a protein, like a hard-boiled egg, and a starch or two. You want a total of six to eight ingredients, before toppings. Too few, and it could get boring; too many, and the bowl gets crowded and confusing. Finish it off with a substantial dressing, like avocado, yogurt, or tahini, and add a couple of toppings, like chives or chopped nuts. Serve with a side of whole-grain bread for a filling and nutritionally-dense meal.
- 2 cups sturdy salad greens, such as romaine, iceberg, escarole, or kale
- ½ cup cooked grains, like quinoa, farro, bulgur wheat, or barley
- 1 cup roasted vegetables, like potatoes, sweet potatoes, or winter squash
- ¼ cup thinly sliced raw vegetables, like bell peppers, celery, carrots, fennel, mushrooms, onions, radishes, snap or snow peas, summer squash, or tomatoes
- ¼ cup salad dressing, like yogurt, tahini, or a vinaigrette, plus more to taste
- ½ avocado, thinly sliced
- 1 hard-boiled egg, peeled and halved
- 2 teaspoons snipped chives, plus more to taste
- 2 teaspoons sliced or chopped nuts, like almonds, walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts, plus more to taste
- Place greens in bottom of serving bowl. Add grains in an even layer over greens. Repeat with the roasted vegetables, then the raw vegetables.
- Top with dressing, and toss gently. Fan out avocado on top on one side of bowl.
- Place hard-boiled egg pieces on the side opposite the avocado. Top with chives and nuts. Serve with whole-grain bread.
Suggested Combinations
Steamed green beans, roasted potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, chickpeas, kalamata olives
Kale, farro, roasted sweet potato, roasted cauliflower, red pepper, goat cheese, roasted walnuts, red wine vinaigrette
Kale, wild rice, roasted sweet potatoes, red cabbage, chickpeas, slivered red onion, cilantro, pepitas. Massage olive oil, lemon and lime juice into kale. Add plain Greek yogurt for additional dressing.
Kale, farro, roasted sweet potato, hard boiled egg, slivered carrots, roasted walnuts, dried cranberries. Soy-Ginger dressing (2 parts olive oil, 1 part rice vinegar, 1 garlic clove, 1” ginger minced, 1T soy sauce, 1T almond butter, 1T honey, 1 tsp. sesame oil. Blend to make smooth.)
Romaine, quinoa, roasted red potatoes, roasted cauliflower, raw radishes, sliced avocado, egg, chives, roasted walnuts, dressed anchovy-mustard vinaigrette.