Big Salad With Grains

Name: Big Salad With Grains
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 1 serving
Ingredients: 2 cups sturdy salad greens, such as romaine, iceberg, escarole or kale; 1/2 cup cooked grains, like quinoa, farro, bulgur wheat or barley; 1 cup roasted vegetables, like potatoes, sweet potatoes or winter squash; 1/4 cup thinly sliced raw vegetables, like bell peppers, celery, carrots, fennel, mushrooms, onions, radishes, snap or snow peas, summer squash or tomatoes; 1/4 cup salad dressing, like yogurt, tahini or a vinaigrette, plus more to taste; 1/2 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; Whole-grain bread, for serving

By Julia Moskin

Total Time: 10 minutes
Rating: 4(1,291)
Comments: Read comments

There's no true recipe for a big salad, but for this robust green meal, you will want to 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 healthy meal.

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Ingredients

Yield:1 serving

2cups sturdy salad greens, such as romaine, iceberg, escarole or kale
½cup cooked grains, like quinoa, farro, bulgur wheat or barley
1cup roasted vegetables, like potatoes, sweet potatoes or winter squash
¼cup thinly sliced raw vegetables, like bell peppers, celery, carrots, fennel, mushrooms, onions, radishes, snap or snow peas, summer squash or tomatoes
¼cup salad dressing, like yogurt, tahini or a vinaigrette, plus more to taste
½avocado, thinly sliced
1hard-boiled egg, peeled and halved
2teaspoons snipped chives, plus more to taste
2teaspoons sliced or chopped nuts, like almonds, walnuts, pecans or hazelnuts, plus more to taste
Whole-grain bread, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Place greens in bottom of serving bowl. Add grains in an even layer over greens. Repeat with the roasted vegetables, then the raw vegetables.
Step 2
Top with dressing, and toss gently. Fan out avocado on top on one side of bowl.
Step 3
Place hard-boiled egg pieces on the side opposite the avocado. Top with chives and nuts. Serve with whole-grain bread.

Ratings

4 out of 5

1,291 user ratings

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Comments

Marcia7 years ago

A rather fun thing to do with eggs and salads is to put a hard-boiled egg in a cheese grater and grate it onto the salad after it's been dressed and tossed - lovely to look at and everyone gets a bit of the egg that way.

Clark6 years ago

Kale. 1c Farro, rinsed and in instant pot with 1c water 1c Apple cider and bay leaf. 10min high pressure, 5min natural release. Roasted cubes of sweet potato. Hard boiled egg in instant pot 5min with 5min release. Cut up carrots. Walnuts. Dates. Dried cranberries. Made a Soy Ginger salad dressing: 2parts olive oil, 1part rice vinegar, A garlic clove, 1” ginger minced, 1T soy sauce, 1T almond butter, 1T honey, 1tsp sesame oil. Blend to make smooth. RIDICULOUSLY good!

Cynthia7 years ago

When I was in Sweden years ago, they served salads similar to this - with roasted potatoes and hard-boiled eggs, chickpeas and olives. They also added lightly steamed green beans, which go with this very well.

watercupcake5 months ago

Made this as an excellent all encompassing side for grilled lamb chops. Took care of the starch, salad, and vegetable in one dish. Used farro, sweet potato, avocado, romaine, red onion, cucumber carrot, tomato, radish, beet, zucchini, and a Greek vinaigrette. It was perfect. The serving for one was plenty as a side for 3.

Laura1 year ago

We use this as a recipe template all the time. Found a new favorite combo tonight—romaine lettuce, barley, roasted sweet potatoes, slivered sweet peppers, simple maple syrup vinaigrette, boiled egg, sliced almonds, green onions and avocado. Served with homemade leek and potato focaccia. *chefs kiss*

dylan olivia1 year ago

So good! I used organic Tuscan kale as the base and then quinoa as the grain, skipped the roast vegetable part as I was short on time, did organic cucumbers, organic onions and organic parsley as my added vegetable, made the vinaigrette with red wine vinegar, mixed everything, did several eggs, two avocados and then added a ton of pepitas. Perfection.

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