Between the beautiful Spring weather and the reopening economy, this has been a week of slowly building joy and optimism. Lunch with lifelong friends was just the perfect way to celebrate and the best way to see Dana’s incredibly lovely new home built from the ground up over the last few years. She served this unique, delicious salad and everyone left with a copy of the recipe in hand. Hope you’re feeling the same Spring euphoria!
You can make this salad in the morning on the day you want to serve it, and the flavors improve as it rests in the fridge. Take it out about an hour before lunch and scoop it into butter lettuce cups. It tastes light and fresh and different, and credit to Sally Crispin for the recipe.
1 box of Uncle Ben’s wild rice/white rice combination, prepared as directed
4 cooked chicken breasts cubed or shredded
1 cup pecans, toasted
3 green onions, sliced
1/2 cup golden raisins and/or craisins
1/2 cup celery, chopped
2 tsp. grated orange zest
2 Tbs. fresh chives, minced
1 can of drained mandarin oranges
1 can sliced and chopped water chestnuts
Citrus Mango Dressing:
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup orange juice
2 Tbs. Dijon mustard
2 Tbs. mango chutney
1/2 Tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
Mix all salad ingredients together (cool the rice first). Combine and whisk the dressing ingredients until thoroughly mixed. Pour dressing over the entire salad and toss gently. Sprinkle with chives and serve at room temperature. Serves 6.
Note: Dana said she usually cooks a bit of additional wild rice to add, as the boxed mix doesn’t include much. Because of nut allergies, you may want to pass the pecans instead of putting them directly into the salad.
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