Clementine Rice & Kale Salad

Adapted from Giada de Laurentiis

The perfect winter salad bursting with fresh juicy orange flavor, kale, rice, a few dried cranberries, toasted almonds and (not pictured) crumbled marinated feta in a fresh tangy citrus vinaigrette.

My kids and I were grocery shopping a while ago … I asked if they wanted any fruits or veggies and they decided on a bag of Cuties (the best clementines, in our experience). But they must have forgotten about the cuties because they didn’t even touch them. The little orange fruits sat in our fruit drawer for several days before I decided it was time to make use of these juicy beauties.

On top of that, my son has been asking for teriyaki chicken ALL the time. This used to be a two-kid dish where they both would eat all the rice and all the chicken … but my daughter has not been joining in on the teriyaki fun times lately. It’s easy to cook less chicken so it’s just enough for the boy, but kinda hard to cook half a batch of rice. It just doesn’t work so well. So unless I can talk the girl into eating the rest of the rice, we end up with spare rice. I put it in a container in the fridge thinking I would think of SOMETHING to do with it.

Something inside of me thought … hey maybe I should make a rice salad? Maybe an orange rice salad (since I have all these cuties?) … and so I went looking about … and I found this recipe from Giada and it inspired me. I tweaked it quite a bit … I added kale. It really needed kale. And green onions and cilantro. And the really funny thing was my daughter was watching me make it and kind of interested in it. (But without the nuts … and kale. I told her I’d make it for her again someday … her way.)

Anyway, after I’d eaten most of this great big salad (which I shared with a couple of my friends), it occurred to me that marinated feta would be an awesome counterbalance all the sweetness of the clementines and craisins. And I added feta. Oh man. Yes! It was SO good that I had it for breakfast … I just couldn’t wait until lunchtime. What a freaking awesome way to start the day!

Clementine Rice & Kale Salad

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 15 minutes
• Yield: 3 - 4 servings 1x

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 6 clementines
• 1 lemon
• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• 1 Tablespoon soy sauce (or tamari, for gluten free)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 3 1/2 cups cooked basmati rice
• 2 cups chopped kale leaves, ribs removed
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 2 green onions (with greens), chopped
• 1 – 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
• For the top: 1/3 cup toasted almonds and (optional) crumbled feta (even better if it’s marinated feta – recipe here)

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Instructions

1. Zest and juice 2 of the clementines and the lemon. Mix the juices with the olive oil, soy sauce, honey, and cumin to make the dressing.
2. Peel the other 4 clementines, then slice sideways and cut into chunks.
3. In a large mixing or salad bowl, toss together the clementines with the remaining ingredients (including the zest).
4. Drizzle the dressing over and toss to mix, then sprinkle the top with toasted almonds and crumbled feta. Enjoy!

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Notes

Refrigerate leftovers in a sealed container. It’s best if you add the toppings just before serving.

RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/

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