- Amanda
When you write about food, you always have your "foodar" on, as you search for new ideas to write about. So at a recent holiday party at our friends' Rachel and Morgan's, where I was supposedly watching after my two little ones, my foodar went "BE-EP! BE-EP!" when I tasted a grain salad that was served along with delicious roasted turkey.
The salad was made with farro, wild rice, quinoa, and barley. The grains were threaded with pecans, raisins, and dried cranberries and the salad was brightened with bits of arugula, radishes, and a wash of sherry vinegar and walnut oil. It was the kind of salad that sounds like a starchy do-gooder, but it has grace and conviction, and you'll want to eat it every day for lunch. Andrew Burman and Matt Monahan, the chefs at Court Street Grocers, who were the caterers that evening, kindly shared the recipe with me.
Radish and Pecan Grain Salad
By Andrew Burman and Matt Monahan, the chefs at Court Street Grocers.
Serves 6 to 8 as a side
- 2 cups mixed grains (like farro, freekah, wheat berries, wild rice, and quinoa, pearl barley, or any combination of the above)
- 1 cup baby arugula leaves
- 1 cup parsley leaves, minced
- 1/2 cup tarragon leaves, minced
- 1/2 cup mint leaves, cut in a chiffonade
- 1/2 pound pecans
- 1/4 cup walnut oil
- 1/4 cup sherry vinegar
- 1 cup lime, watermelon, or French breakfast radishes, cut into thin slices, preferably using a mandoline
- 1/4 cup shallot, minced
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
1. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add the grains and cook until just tender, about 25 minutes. (With grains like wild rice and wheat berries, add them to the pot first and cook 10 minutes before adding remaining grains).
2. Drain the grains into a colander, then set aside until warm to the touch.
3. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and toss well. Season with salt to taste.
41 Comments on Radish and Pecan Grain Salad:
Made this for some girlfriends last night- we loved it! Great base recipe - one in which I really want to use my quinoa, wheatberries, and brown rice. Thanks :)
Absolutely delicious. Next time I think I'll cut back on the oil a little, but it's definitely going in the grain salad repertoire! I used kamut, barley, quinoa and wild rice. Yum! Thanks Amanda.
Holy crap that's a good salad! I made it with bulgur and just parsley because the mint and tarragon at the store did not look good. I had a huge watermelon radish from my winter CSA that I didn't know what to do with. Delicious! Thank you for the recipe.
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoLike your on-the-fly adaptations!
Astonishingly delicious right on the heels of the lentil/rice/onion/spiced yogurt (name and sp?) entry in the Lentil Contest. Lunch has never been so interesting.
My dear grain-adverse husband pronounced the dressed grains--pre-lettuce, pecan, raisin and radish--as delicious (!), even better than tabbouleh from Emily's Lebanese here in Mpls. High praise, indeed.
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoPlease thank him for the praise -- glad we've converted him.
I had this for lunch today and it was excellent. And so filling that I didn't get my 3:00 sweets craving.
Delicious. Made this this afternoon for lunch. Used apple cider vinegar and olive oil because that's what I had around and for the grains, used farro, barley and quinoa. Fortifying!
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoBet the cider vinegar was a nice echo to the fruit.
We have a regular potluck -mostly vegetarian- and this will be perfect. I love the cruch of radish and the chew of grains. And it seems like the grown-up, sophisticated version of the earnest do-gooder type salad.
Thanks, Amanda. I made it Sunday night for dinner. And can't wait for lunch today!
Where can I find watermelon or French breakfast radish?
Are they sold at any of the stalls at the union square farmers market?
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoI'm not sure if they're sold there, but I'd try. More likely one of the farmers sells the breakfast radishes than the watermelon.
What would you suggest substituting for the pecans and walnut oil? I cook for a family that has nut allergies, but can tolerate macadamias, pine nuts, and pistachios.
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoPistachios and just more olive oil would be great!
Three cheers for your addition of a recipe box! And I wonder, might it help your research for another Food52 cookbook and/or Times cookbook (love it, Amanda!) to survey what your readers are saving?
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoYes -- and we can actually track that in our database, although we haven't looked at that yet (but should and will!). Thank you!
I do want to eat this every day for lunch! Thanks Amanda for passing on this wonderful recipe! Now I want to make another roast turkey too: )
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoThank YOU!
I am making this for lunch this week. "1 cup lime, watermelon, or French breakfast radishes, cut into thin slices, preferably using a mandoline" is my favorite sentence of the year so far, in spite of the fact that it's not really a sentence. But TWO gallons of water? 32 cups of water? Really? If we used, say 26 cups, or 12 for that matter, would it really make a difference?
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoJust a large pot of salted water.
I've been increasing my greens and grains over the last few months and this looks like a perfect salad to make this weekend. Thanks!!
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoYes, it's definitely what I needed post-holidays, too.
Don't wheatberries and unpearled barley need to be soaked and cooked more like 50 mins? I guess follow the directons on pkg..
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoSorry, just fixed that -- should have said pearl barley. But the wheatberries, I didn't soak and it worked out just fine.
Generous of them to share the recipe. Sounds very appealing. I wonder how it keeps, because of the arugula. Any suggestions for a main if I use this for a large lunch I have coming up?
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoIt was great with roasted turkey, so I think it would also be delicious with chicken or duck. Also, pork shoulder.
gorgeous looking salad! can't wait to try it!
What a beautiful salad! I have never heard of French breakfast radishes (will need to search for them on my upcoming visit to Paris :)) - Is there a quick way to save this to my recipe box? I dont' see the usual button.
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoBecause it's a blog post not a recipe format, it doesn't have that button, but we'll soon be adding it to our recipe database where you can save it to your recipe box. (Also, in the near future, we're going to make it so blog post recipes have the same tools as recipes. In the meantime, sorry for the inconvenience.)
Thanks....I thought it was just me that couldn't find the save button!
I was lost too, thanks.
Substantial without being heavy, and I don't think it'd be ruined if a few pieces of leftover shrimp or steak were thrown in. Thanks.
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoAgreed!
Perfect.
Delicious! I want to whip this up this weekend.
It also is a great way to use up odds and ends of grains .... sounds wonderful!
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoYes, you can use pretty much anything -- you just want to stagger the cooking so they finish all at once.
Thanks for getting us this recipe--it sounds great!
Grateful for your stellar foodar! Can't wait to try this.
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added about 1 year agoHa-ha -- thank you!
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