Chicken & Wild Rice Salad with Tangerines & Hazelnuts

Ali Segersten Apr 06, 2010 13 comments

This simple grain salad is something I like to make when I cook a whole chicken for soup. I will save some of the breast meat for enchiladas or salads like this one. Now, if you are vegan please read on to see what I do to make this salad sans meat.

First off let me say that this recipe is really for me, my kids don't like it. Ahh, it's all mixed together! That said, my boys, 2 years, are still young enough to eat anything; their palettes are not as discerning as my 5 and 8-year old daughters are. So yes, they will eat some but not much. My best bet is to leave all of the ingredients separate: salad greens, plain wild rice, chicken, hazelnuts, and tangerines in separate groups on a plate. They love it all this way! And since Tom is vegan, and has been for 29 years, I make a double batch of the salad and put chicken in half and garbanzo beans in the other half.

I really enjoy the sustainable energy from this super nutritious grain salad, especially after a long morning workout. It keeps me going all afternoon! Wild rice is high in protein and fiber and has a delicious, nutty flavor. Combined with tangerines, chicken, hazelnuts, and green onions, it creates a very nutritious meal!

How to cook a whole chicken on the stove:

To cook a whole chicken that results in tender meat, make sure to simmer it at a low heat and not boil. Boiling and fast cooking results in tough meat.

Rinse the chicken and place into an 8-quart pot. Add 1 large chopped onion, 1 whole head garlic cut in half, 1 to 2 carrots, 3 stalks celery, a large handful of fresh parsley, lots of fresh herbs such as rosemary, thyme, oregano, marjoram, and a few bay leaves. Add 2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns and 1 tablespoon sea salt.
Cover the chicken and veggies with water, about 12 cups. Bring to a boil then immediately reduce to a simmer and cook, partially covered, for 1.5 to 2 hours.
Place a colander over another clean 8-quart pot or bowl to strain off the broth. Remove the cooked chicken from the colander and place onto a plate to cool. Now you have a delicious, healing, mineral-rich homemade chicken broth to freeze or make soup out of.

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About the Author

Ali Segersten

Alissa Segersten holds a Bachelor's of Science in Nutrition from Bastyr University and a Master’s of Science in Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine from the University of Western States. She is a Functional Nutritionist, the mother of five children, a whole foods cooking instructor, professional recipe developer, and cookbook author. She is passionate about helping others find a diet that will truly nourish them. Alissa is the author of two very popular gluten-free, whole foods cookbooks and guidebooks: The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook and Nourishing Meals. She is also the co-author of The Elimination Diet book. Alissa is the founder and owner of Nourishing Meals®.

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Comments

I made this for dinner tonight. The entire family (except for the weee littles) LOVED it!!! We even have leftovers. So easy too. I have been living out of your cookbook and not only do I feel great knowing that I'm eating better but I also ACTUALLY do feel better! My husband has noticed that he feels better too now that he is avoiding gluten. :) My son is Asperger's and he is GF as well, and your recipes make it easy for us to stick to the diet while still eating delicious food. Thank you for all you do!

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

Noosh - I usually compost those veggies and herbs. Most of their flavors and nutrients end up in the stock so it isn't necessary to keep them. If you have toddlers around you could feed the large, soft carrot chunks to them (I do this sometimes). :)

i was wondering- what do you do with all of the veggies you boiled the chicken with after you remove the chicken? do you keep them with the broth? i always have this problem whenever i make broth ;) thanks!

I made this yesterday, and it was soooo good! I had the rest for lunch today, very satisfying. Nice work!

Looks absolutley delicious! I also want to let you know that I passed on a 'beautiful blogger award' to you on my last post http://notesonanaria.blogspot.com/2010/04/beautiful-blogger-award.html
xxx

That use one nice looking salad! I like the use of the wild rice.

Thanks gals for the lovely comments.

Gail - since all comments are in moderation, they come into my email box so I can publish or reject them. I began to get too many strange spam comments with weird links so I moderated all of them. You can leave a comment on any old post and I will publish it. We have not made the zucchini bake in a while - not zucchini season here yet! :) I am sure he would eat some sort of bean dish or bean spread with it along side a large salad. There are so many options! :)

I think that I will make this next week with garbanzo beans. It sounds really good! No need to shake or turn hazelnuts while toasting? My husband tried to toast walnuts in the oven, and they caught on fire! Perhaps they prefer the skillet method.
Do you have some alert if someone comments on an old recipe? I am going to make your delicious Zucchini Bake (fourth or fifth time), and wondered what Tom eats with it?

This look fabulous! I have made a wild rice salad, but I love the addition of the tangerines and chicken. Can't wait to make it - I will need to share with my friends at work, they will love it!!
thanks!
Deb