If you’re still planning your Thanksgiving dinner and need one more side dish to round things off, how about a salad? Something seasonal that will complement the other dishes and won’t require las-minute cooking as some of your other items will.
If that sounds like a good idea, I’ve tossed together three recipes for you to consider.
The base for one of them is wild rice, which is not actually a type of rice. It’s the seed of a tall, aquatic grass that grows in Canadian lakes and rivers, in places such as Manitoba and northwestern Ontario. After harvesting and curing, those seeds are roasted and husked and you end up with dark brown- to black-coloured grains called wild rice.
Wild rice has an intriguing nutty, slightly smoky flavour and pleasingly chewy texture when cooked. In my salad, once the rice is cooked, it’s cooled and combined with a tangy dressing and colourful mix of ingredients, including dried fruit, pumpkin seeds and nut-like Edamame. Edamame are bright green soybeans and the shelled version I used is sold frozen in bags at most supermarkets.
My second salad sees roasted, cooled cubes of squash tossed with a citrusy dressing, baby kale, sunflower seeds and sweet/tart dried fruit. It’s rich in colour, texture and taste and parts of the salad can be readied ahead, so you can quickly toss it together when needed.
My last salad is a slaw made from thinly sliced, raw Brussels sprouts, a member of the cabbage family. To accent its attractive colour and balance the mild, mustardy taste, I tossed the sprouts with grated carrot, chopped pecans, dried cranberries and balsamic vinegar dressing.
These salads pair well with fish, such as salmon; roasts, such as pork; and fowl, such as turkey. If you are invited to someone’s house for Thanksgiving dinner they are also something you could make and bring, if asked to contribute something to the meal.
Wild Rice Salad With Edamame, Fruit and Pumpkin Seeds
You can make this earthy, colourful salad several hours before you serve it. Cover and refrigerate until needed. The wild rice used in it is sold in the bagged rice aisle of some supermarkets. You’ll find the edamame in the frozen foods section.
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Makes: Eight to 10 servings
1 1/4 cups wild rice
3 Tbsp cider vinegar
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp maple syrup or honey
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp dried ground sage
1 cup frozen, shelled edamame, thawed
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup golden raisins
10 dried apricots, thinly sliced
1/2 cup unsalted, shelled pumpkin seeds
2 green onions, very thinly sliced
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
Place rice in a pot (mine was seven inches wide) and add 5 cups cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Lower heat so that the water gently simmers. Simmer rice until just tender, about 25 minutes. Drain well, cool to room temperature and place in a salad bowl.
Place vinegar, oil, maple syrup (or honey), mustard and sage in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Add that mixture and all remaining ingredients to the rice and toss to combine.
Cover and refrigerate salad until needed. Gently toss salad again before serving.
Roasted Squash Salad
With Baby Kale
The squash for the salad and dressing could be prepared hours before needed and refrigerated. Toss them with the kale and other ingredients just before you serve the salad.Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Makes: eight servings
For the squash
4 cups peeled banana or butternut squash (about 1 large), cut into 3/4-inch cubes (see Note)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the salad and to finish
5 cups loosely packed baby kale (see Note)
1/3 to 1/2 cup dried cranberries or goji berries (see Note)
1/3 cup raw, unsalted sunflower seeds
2 Tbsp orange juice
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp honey or maple syrup
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Preheat oven to 375§F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place squash, oil and spices in a bowl and toss to combine. Spread squash out on the baking sheet, season with salt and pepper, and then roast 20 minutes, or until tender. Let squash cool to room temperature, and then place in a salad bowl.
Add kale, cranberries (or goji berries) and sunflower seeds to squash. Combine the juices, 2 Tbsp oil, honey (or maple syrup), salt and pepper in a small bowl. Pour over the squash and other ingredients, toss combine and serve.
Note: Chunks of cleaned banana squash are sold at many supermarkets. Baby kale is sold in tubs in the produce section of many supermarkets. I used about 2/3 of a tub in this recipe. If you can’t find it, you could use torn leaves of mature kale in this recipe. Or use baby mixed salad greens. Goji berries are sold in the bulk food section of some supermarkets. According to some medical sources, they might interfere with some medications, so don’t use them here if that’s a concern.
Brussels Sprouts Slaw
You can thinly slice the raw Brussels sprouts for this slaw by hand or with the shredding attachment of your food processor or with a mandolin. You can prepare the slaw’s ingredients and dressing hours in advance. Cover and keep refrigerated until ready to combine the two and serve the slaw.
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: None
Makes: eight to 10 servings
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp honey or maple syrup
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup vegetable oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
5 cups thinly sliced brussels sprouts, ends trimmed (see Note)
1 cup grated carrot
3/4 cup pecan halves, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup dried cranberries or raisins, or mix of both
2 green onions, very thinly sliced
Place the vinegar, honey (or maple syrup), mustard, oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add remaining ingredients and toss to combine. Slaw can be tossed with the dressing an hour or two before serving. Cover and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
Note: About 45 to 50 small to medium Brussels sprouts, halved lengthwise, should yield the amount needed here.
Eric Akis is the author of eight cookbooks. His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.
