Super Green Grain Salad Recipe

If you're looking for ways to incorporate a little (or a lot) more greens into your diet, this super green grain salad from recipe developer and wellness coach Miriam Hahn is for you. Hearty kale and crisp romaine serve as a base for the salad, while nutty jade rice, protein-rich edamame, crunchy cucumber, and creamy avocado are amongst the abundant green ingredients in this bowl. Each bite offers a satisfying balance of textures from the chewy rice to the crunchy pumpkin seeds. The lemony green goddess dressing is loaded with fresh herbs and brings everything together in this stunning salad bursting with nutrients. It's substantial enough to enjoy on its own, or makes a delicious pairing with a simple soup like roasted tomato or this sauteed spinach soup (to keep the green theme going!)

"I love to make this salad right after a visit to the farmer's market when my fridge is overflowing with green goodness," Hahn says. "I usually make a double batch of the dressing ahead of time and make a few variations of this green salad throughout the week." It's a great salad to keep on standby, and even if you don't have access to farmer's market-fresh produce, you can still whip up this salad (or variations of it) depending on what's in season and what's available to you.

To make this recipe, start in the produce aisle or the farmer's market and grab lacinato kale, lemons, romaine lettuce, English cucumber, green onions, avocado, parsley, cilantro, dill, chives, and garlic. Then to complete the salad ingredients, pick up shelled edamame, jade rice, pumpkin seeds, and tahini. Since we are adding salt to the dressing, it's best to use roasted and unsalted pumpkin seeds. Check your condiment cabinet for olive oil, sea salt, and pepper to round out the ingredients.

Place the kale in a large bowl and add the juice of 1 lemon and ¼ teaspoon salt.

Massage for 3 to 4 minutes to break down the kale.

Add the romaine and toss with the kale.

Arrange the cucumber, edamame, green onions, avocado, rice, pumpkin seeds, and 1 cup parsley in sections around the salad bowl.

To make the dressing add the remaining ½ cup parsley, cilantro, dill, chives, garlic, tahini, remaining lemon juice, remaining salt, pepper, olive oil, and water to a blender.

Blend until smooth.

Pour dressing over salad and serve right away.

You have several options if you want to switch up some of the salad ingredients. First off, you can choose a different lettuce combination for the base of the salad. You can use spring mix, butter lettuce, red leaf lettuce, or iceberg lettuce. If you prefer to use a regular cucumber or the small Persian cucumbers instead of the English cucumber, that is an easy switch. Feel free to swap out the green onions for diced shallots, red onions, or chives. Other green veggies that work well in this salad are peas, chopped snap peas, diced raw zucchini, diced broccoli, either raw or lightly steamed, diced celery, green bell pepper, blanched asparagus, shaved brussels sprouts, or micro greens.

To substitute the jade rice, you can use long or short grain rice, wild rice, farro, sorghum, or couscous. Or if you are more into noodles, soba noodles, udon noodles, rice noodles, or ramen all work well. If you cook these ahead, douse them with olive oil so they don't stick together once you assemble the salad.

There are several varieties of kale out there. Lacinato kale offers a more tender texture than any of the curly kale varieties. It has long narrow leaves that look bumpy which is why this kale is often called dinosaur or dino kale. It is great for salads because it is heartier and will hold up longer than a delicate lettuce. It also has a slightly sweeter taste and is generally a very good option for salads. 

Massaging the kale will break it down, making it taste even better, and making it easier to digest. When using kale for salads, it's important to remove the center stem which can be saved for juicing. Then, cutting the leaves into thin strips is the next step to delicious kale. Before massaging, it is best to add either lemon juice or olive oil to coat the kale. Adding a little salt helps the kale break down further. To massage the kale, use your hand to gently squeeze the kale until it reduces in size and wilts. This will also enhance its ability to absorb the dressing.