It’s bananas that I am already planning our Christmas menu! Â I feel like I have barely recovered from Thanksgiving. Â The good news is that Christmas dinner is very low key. Â We start with a small cheese board while we’re opening gifts. Â Dinner commences with chicken soup with tortellini, followed by roast tenderloin and 2-3 side dishes. Â My mom makes the soup and meat and I change up the sides every so often. Â But I always keep them very veggie-centric so we don’t feel bad about indulging in too many Christmas cookies later.
I made this wild rice salad last year and I also taught it in last December’s holiday classes. Â I ate it every day for 2 weeks and I was obsessed. Â Not only is it delicious, but light and fresh and it looks like Christmas in a bowl. Nutty wild rice salad paired with fresh, crunchy pomegranates, apples and radishes. Â Sweet balances with tart – this dressing is AMAZING! – and spicy (radish) is a happy combo. Â I almost made this for Thanksgiving this year because this combo goes great with turkey. Â It would also be perfect with ham or lamb. Since my husband is still vegan and plans to continue through the holidays, I will also make this as a vegan entree.
My food processor did almost all the work here. Â I used the slicing disc to thinly slice the Brussels sprouts and radishes in about 3 seconds. Â You can buy pomegranate seeds already seeded if necessary. Â Cook some wild rice (or you can use farro or einkorn berries or even cauliflower rice) and this comes together very easily. Â In fact you can prepare all the components of the salad (even the apples – just cover them with ice water in the fridge) the night before and then assemble right before serving.
I love doing one red and green dish for Christmas, and I always favor seasonal produce like broccoli, dark green leafy vegetables, cabbage, Brussels sprouts. Â Pomegranates almost always make an appearance in my holiday salads, but don’t forget about fresh or dried cranberries, radishes, apples. Â Whether it is Christmas or Hanukkah or another holiday, you don’t have to gravitate towards all rich recipes. Â In fact, I generally receive a more favorable response from colorful, seasonal dishes like this one than a casserole pan of potatoes covered in cheese. Â And that’s fine, too. Â But you didn’t come here for that. Â I have a few more holiday recipes up my sleeve, so check in regularly!
Â
- 1 cup wild rice*
- 1 pound Brussels sprouts
- 1 bunch radishes, about 8, trimmed
- seeds from 1 large pomegranate or a 6-ounce package of seeds
- ¼ cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves, torn by hand (fresh dill is also a nice option)
- 1 tart apple julienned or 1 cup blanched edamame or 1 avocado
- Dressing:
- 1 medium or large shallot, minced
- 2 Tablespoons pomegranate molasses**
- 2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, about 1 lemon
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- freshly round black pepper to taste
- ⅓ cup unrefined, cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
- Cook the wild rice according to the package directions. (Generally speaking, add rice to a pot with 2⅓ cups of water, bring to a boil and simmer covered for 40 minutes.) Drain and transfer to a large serving bowl and allow to cool.***
- Trim the base of the sprouts and slice thinly either by hand or with the slicing disc of a food processor. Do NOT use the shredding/grating disc. Add to cooled rice.
- Thinly slice the radishes in the same manner. Add to the rice and sprouts along with pomegranate seeds, mint and apple (or edamame or avocado.)
- In a medium bowl or in a screw-top jar, combine dressing ingredients until emulsified. Pour over salad and toss to combine. Top with microgreens, if using.
**Pomegranate molasses is available at Whole Foods and many other grocery stores. If you can't find it, boil pomegranate juice until it thickens into a molasses-like liquid.
***If you need this to cool down quickly, spread out over a large baking sheet.
Notes: a handful of microgreens on top can look very festive.
Â
5 Comments
You have mentioned chicken tortellini soup a few times. It sounds delightful. Can you share your recipe?
We always eat it as a first course on Christmas Day. My mom makes homemade chicken broth and then we boil store-bought fresh tortellini in it. We buy the tortellini at a local Italian market. That’s it. Nothing fancy.
Hi Pamela,
What could I sub for radishes? I may also sub cabbage for Brussels sprouts. Those two are not my favorite but I like this overall idea if you have any substitution suggestions?
Sure! Red cabbage would be pretty instead of Brussels. Instead of radishes, how about thinly sliced celery?
Perfect! Thanks!