Red rice and oat groat grain studded with Fall’s bountiful harvest of apple, pear, grapes, pomegranate and persimmon make up this delicious salad. Additionally, your leftover Thanksgiving turkey will pair nicely with this salad. Consider serving as a side-dish or turn it into a healthy luncheon salad.
Sweet crunchy persimmon, juicy red pears, crunchy honey-crisp apples, delicious globes of red grapes and a sprinkling of pomegranate arils make this salad pop with flavor and color.
A bountiful Fall salad of harvest grain and sweet fruit.
Just because the sweet fruit of summer is gone, doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a lovely cool salad. This salad is easy to prepare and so versatile. It’s a wonderful accompaniment to grilled chicken, turkey or pork. But the leftovers make a hearty lunch. Oftentimes, I chop a little grilled chicken or roasted turkey and mix into a serving of leftover salad for a quick lunch to go. But that’s not all, this recipe for Bountiful Harvest Grain Salad offers up copious flavors of Thanksgiving. Consider serving this delicious salad as a new side-dish to your Thanksgiving dinner table. Furthermore, this salad is perfect guests who are gluten intolerant and unable to enjoy bread stuffing.
The Grains
The basis of this salad starts with a blend of Oat Groat and Sprouted Red Rice. Both of these grains can be found at health food markets like Sprout’s, Henry’s and Whole Foods. Also many markets like Ralph’s, Kroger’s, Von’s and Trader Joes carry these whole grains.
Oat Groat is the hulled whole grain oat, as it is harvested. Simply put, oat groats are cut and made into “steel cut oats”. Or they are steamed and rolled into “rolled oats” or “old fashioned oats.
Sprouted Red Rice is higher in nutrients than regular brown rice. Additionally red rice has a crunchier and nuttier flavor than white or brown rice.
The oat groat offers a slight chewiness while the Sprouted Red Rice adds a grainy crunch. The two different grains must be cooked separately as they have different cooking times. But fear not, both grains may be cooked ahead and refrigerated for 3-4 days until you are ready to put your salad together.
Usually, I cook the oat groats first as they take a bit longer. Once they have finished cooking (about 45 minutes), I place them in a colander and rinse with cool water. The pan is rinsed and this is repeated with the Sprouted Red Rice. Both cooked grains are then placed in a sealable container and stored in the refrigerator. In a moments time, the salad can be assembled and ready to serve.
The Fruits
I have assembled this salad with several different combinations of fruits and they are all equally delicious. But my favorite by far is the combination of persimmons, apples, red grapes, and red pears garnished with a sprinkling of pomegranate arils. The persimmons used are Fuji Persimmons as they have a crunchy texture. Additionally, using a tart apple like Pink Lady or Honey Crisp balances the sweetness of the grapes and pears.
If you have a particular dislike for one of these fruits or one is unavailable, no problem. Simply substitute with more of one of the other fruits or replace it with your favorite fall fruit. What’s more if you are meal prepping, I have found that it is best to store the cut fruits separately until a few hours before serving. The vinegar in the dressing will soften the fruits over several days.
A 1 Cup serving of salad made with the optional pomegranate is 3 WW Smart Points.
A 1 Cup serving made with the optional Toasted Sliced Almonds is 4 WW Smart Points.
Buon Appetito!
