Every time I serve this salad at a party, people contact me afterward asking for the recipe.  It’s a crowd-pleaser and a nice change of pace from traditional pasta salads.  For all of you who’ve asked me recently, here you go!

Herbed Grains Salad

 

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Ingredients

• 1¼ cups dry grains medley (try Trader Joe’s Harvest Grains, or any mixed grains you like such as wild rice, Israeli Couscous, whole wheat orzo, rice-lentil combos, etc)
• 1 large apple, diced
• ½-1 English cucumber (also called Hothouse, in the plastic wrapper), diced
• 4 green onions thinly sliced
• ⅓ cup dried cranberries
• ¼ cup toasted sliced almonds
• Large handful of fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
• Large handful of fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• Juice of ½ an orange or a lemon
• 3 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• ¼ cup Extra Virgin olive oil
• Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Cook grains according to package directions, making sure to include some salt in the water for flavor. When cooked, spread grains out onto a dinner plate to cool to room temperature.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together maple syrup, vinegar, olive oil, mustard, and lemon juice with a dash of salt & pepper. Add apples, cucumbers, scallions, herbs, and cranberries to the bowl and toss in the vinaigrette. When grains are cool, add them to the bowl (de-clumping with your fingers if necessary), along with the toasted almonds. Toss to coat. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

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