Radish and Pecan Grain Salad
It's a lot of ingredients but most are easy to find: wild rice, shallot, radish, arugula, raisins, pecans, dried cranberries, quinoa, farro, pearl barley, tarragon, and mint.
Measure out the grains separately, so you can add them successively to a pot of boiling water.
When the grains are finished cooking, you drain them all together.
If you want to slice the radishes ahead of time, keep them covered in water and drain before using. These were sliced on a mandoline.
Once the grains are cooked and the herbs are chopped, it's a matter of assembly.
You add all the ingredients at once.
I added the oils (olive and walnut) and vinegar (aged sherry) at the end.
Then fold away. This is a salad you want to mix a lot to get all the flavors and textures to blend.
Lunch!
Author Notes: 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. —Amanda Hesser
Serves: 6 to 8 as a side
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2 cups mixed grains (like farro, freekeh, wheat berries, wild rice, and quinoa, pearl barley, or any combination of the above)
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1 cup baby arugula leaves
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1 cup parsley leaves, minced
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1/2 cup tarragon leaves, minced
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1/2 cup mint leaves, cut in a chiffonade
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1/2 cup pecans
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1/4 cup walnut oil
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1/4 cup sherry vinegar
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1 cup lime, watermelon, or French breakfast radishes, cut into thin slices, preferably using a mandoline
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1/4 cup shallot, minced
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1/4 cup olive oil
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1/2 cup raisins
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1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 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).
- Drain the grains into a colander, then set aside until warm to the touch.
- Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and toss well. Season with salt to taste.
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
More Great Recipes:
Grains|Salad|Appetizer|Side|Vegetarian|Vegan
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Okay. I read all the comments and determined that maybe I shouldn't use the tarragon. And maybe i shouldn't use the olive oil and the walnut oil AND the sherry vinegar. WRONG, WRONG WRONG. This recipe is perfect as it is. I cooked the grains the day before and added the walbut oil and vinegar while they were still warm. That allowed them to soak up the liquid. Next day i added all the other stuff which definitely needed the olive oil and served sans tarragon. I sent mt friend/food guru home with leftover salad and a sprig of tarragon. He wrote tge next a.m. Add the tarragon! All i can say is, Listen to Amanda!!
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
Glad it made you happy!
I'm eating leftovers for lunch right now. I was wary of cooking grains (in my case, a mix of farro, barley, Israeli couscous, and millet) like pasta, but that worked fine. I used spinach instead of arugula, and would use more next time. I thought the grain-to-vegetable ratio was a little off. I whisked the olive oil with the vinegar before adding, and eliminated the walnut oil altogether. You don't need that extra quarter cup.
This recipe has always intrigued me and I was ecstatic for the opportunity to finally try it. I'm sorry to say this is one of the precious few Food52 recipes I won't make again. It's not a bad salad by any means, it simply doesn't work (except the texture, which is delightful). The radish, mint and raisins seem to make sense, but then you get a bite of tarragon or parsley and it ruins it. I like the shallots, cranberries and pecans, but then the mint or the radishes taste jarring. "The radishes are like foreign invaders," my boyfriend observed. Again, it's not bad, it just doesn't make sense to me. I would nominate this for Your Favorite Side Dish To Serve On Alpha Centauri.
Just made this to use up some random remnants of grains in our pantry- yum! Also used a blood orange instead of the dried fruit and cilantro instead of parsley and spinach instead of arugula. Just what I had on hand. Served with some scallops and it was the perfect fresh winter salad meal. Thanks! Will make again!
I made this for my family for Christmas dinner, using barley and quinoa and it came out great. I bought walnut oil specifically for this recipe, but I don't think it was entirely necessary. I also added more arugula as I continued to eat the salad as leftovers. I liked it so much, I made it again for a New Year's Eve party. Everyone loved it!
Glad to know.
How lovely this radish and pecan grain salad. Number one!
You did a great job by making this super delicious salad.
Yummy, what a great salad recipe.
This salad is amazing and it looks also fantastic.
The pic looks great! I just want to dig in and eat that salad
Great Combo
Made this at Thanksgiving. I used farro, buckwheat and tricolor quinoa. No dried cranberries so I used dried cherries. My vegetarian son loved it and my carnivore husband really liked it.
Visually appealing,Delicious and Satisfying...I used farro and barley. The textures , flavor blends and chewiness, made this a recipe a real winner. Lucky for me, I have parsley, tarragon, mint arugula and radishes growing in my garden! The grains were easy since I mill all my flour. No doubt, this will become favorite...since my hubby said he really enjoyed it as well. ;) I roasted a chicken with lemon, garlic and lemon thyme...served the salad with a few slices of chicken...heaven. :) Thank you Amanda!
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
So glad you like it -- but now I have garden envy! :)
Amanda, Yes...I am quite lucky living in a climate that allows for year round gardening. Every meal I wander out back to first see what could be harvested, then plan my menu. Life is good.
I made this for my lunches this week -- so good! It seems so simple, but it is very tasty and satisfying. I didn't have sherry vinegar so used apple cider vin, and olive oil because they don't have anything more adventurous at our local grocery store… still worked well! I like a bit of local NZ sheep's milk feta on top. Yum yum!
Great recipe. I made this for Superbowl Sunday- used farro and quinoa. I doubled the amount of arugula, added cilantro, sesame seeds, almonds, cranberries, radishes, and cashews, and my sauce consisted of olive oil, lemon juice, rice vinegar, honey, shallots, garlic, chile pepper and salt all blended together.
I made the farro and quinoa the night before and poured some dressing to let the flavors mingle. Would recommend tossing in the arugula and remainder of the greens an hour or so before you plan to serve such that the greens looks fresh and not wilted.
These sorts of grain salad recipes are great in the sense that you can improvise and throw in whatever you want! :D
I made this dish for a pot-luck birthday party. I used black rice, quinoa and wild rice for the grains to keep it GF. I was so delighted with the many flavors and nuances that I kept tasting it and worried that I might have to make another before I got it to the party! YUM! Thanks for sharing.
Can you recommend a whole fruit substitute for the dried cranberries/raisins? Also is it 1/2 pound or 1/2 cup pecans?
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
Cherries, blueberries, or diced peach would be good. And I'm glad you asked about the pecans, I think that was a typo. Should be 1/2 cup.
Thanks! I stuck with the dried fruit and used a mixture of blueberries, cherries, raisins and cranberries. It was fun to use a variety of dried fruit. I made it gluten-free with wild rice, quinoa and buckwheat groats - it was delicious!
yum. Any substitute for walnut oil? Perhaps this oil makes the dish perfect?
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
The walnut oil is a nice touch but there are a lot of other great flavors in this dish, so olive oil would be a perfectly fine substitute.
Simply fantastic. Glad to have a good use for my big tarragon plant and garden radishes, too!
Oh yum. So good. I did a trial run of this dish as I would like to make it later for "guests". Using it as my side dish, what meat/poultry/fish would be best with this dish. Actually, if you have an actual recipe you use, please let me know and I will do a search for it. Thanks for a wonderful side dish (I love grains).
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
Friends of mine always serve it with roast turkey. This time of year, I'd pair it with a grilled skirt steak or grilled chicken. Hope this is helpful!
I served mine with salmon and thought it paired really well.
This is a fantastic salad. Based on the ingredients and comments I'd already decided to use it for a luncheon I'm hosting in June, but just tried it last night. I used wild rice and quinoa, raisins, dried cherries, mac nut oil, some basil and rosemary because that is what I had on hand. I know it will be even better with the mint and tarragon. Yum!
I know I've already confessed my love for this salad but will again. I just made a big bowl of it for a dinner party tonight. Since we're having roasted radishes, I skipped the radishes here and added lightly sautéed asparagus and goat's milk feta. Kept everything else exactly the same.
My dad loved his radishes just dragged through a mound of salt. Sadly for me, the radish has always been a bit of a non-starter as I have encountered too many woody characters in my day. I promise to give them another shot this season though and this salad seems as though it has many enticing flavors. I look forward to adding the radish to my expanding vegetable favorites. Thanks for the recipe.
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
You're welcome, and hope it transforms your feelings about radishes!
Yummy, can't wait to try this. I have been looking for more "grain" recipes and looks like I have another to add to my collection. Do I really need two kinds of oils (walnut & olive) for this recipe?
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
No -- feel free to use whatever one you have on hand!
This is one of my favorite recipes on the site -- it's perfect as written and open to improvisation. It's a huge hit every time I make it. Glad to see the new James Ransom pic!
I made this for a vegan dinner party and everyone (even the omnivores) loved it. There were beautiful French breakfast radishes, wild arugula and spearmint at the Union Square farmers' market; grains were a mix of Rancho Gordo red quinoa, pearl barley and wheat berries. Piled the salad on a bed of pea shoots. Delicious! It does make a lot, so I sent everyone home with some and will enjoy the rest for lunch today.
OMG!! Every bit of this menu sounds yummy. I'm going to serve the entire menu for my bunco group this month. Thanks Food52 for these very fresh recipes.
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
Let us know how it turns out -- happy bunco-ing!
yum! i used barley and bulgar as my grains and omitted the mint and tarragon (did not have them on hand). also i subbed smoked almonds for the pecans. i served it with panko chicken cutlets with a kimchi relish and sweet potato molasses rolls with avocado butter. this was great for lunch the next day.
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
yum!
I used wild rice, quinoa, barley and farro - baby Kale instead of arugula and doubled the cranberries in place of raisins. SO DELICIOUS. My new favorite salad.
Hi!! I am in love with your website and really would like to try this recipe. A little confused on the ingredient list--1 cup lime, watermelon, or French breakfast radishes. What is it that I actually need?
this looks perfect for our next get together. Thank you so much for sharing :o)
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
It means you can use any variety of radish that you like! Hope that helps -- and thanks for your kind words about the site. Let us know your thoughts on the recipe!
Well, this recipe is on the regular rotation at my house. Everytime I make it there are no leftovers for next day. I have shared it withnothers and they only have great things to say. So glad I found you on the web. Every day I learn something new.
A great and flexible salad. I've taken it to my family reunion 2 years in a row, to rave reviews. This time I used equal parts quinoa and wheat berries, and lots more arugula. It gets better after a few days.
This was the first dish I cooked after recently having a baby and it totally hit the spot. I love the combination of flavors -- I'll be making variations of this salad all spring and summer long.
I made this gluten-free, with 1 1/2 cups buckwheat groats (kasha) and 1/2 cup wild rice. I cooked the two grains separately; the kasha needs to be toasted and then cooks for only about 10 minutes. No walnut oil on hand, so I used a blend of olive and vegetable oil. It came out beautifully--great flavor!
a perfect lunch! I am growing french breakfast radishes (and tarragon and parsley and mixed greens) in my attic garden - my first harvest is going straight into this recipe. cannot wait!
I cant wait to try this recipe- I just recently purchased farro and freekah in order to give them a try. This will be the perfect opportunity
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
Great -- let me know how you like it with freekah.
Looks fabulous. Can't wait to make it Saturday while watching the Pats! On to the Superbowl....I hope!
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
Your wish came true!
okay, YUM! Just made this lovely, addictive salad. FYI - all other comments are accurate, this will serve alot of people! This is definitely going into my recipe rotation... and is there anything more beautiful than a watermelon radish slice?
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
Thanks for giving it a try!
OMG. I just tasted the salad (I made it for a dinner tonight) and it's AMAZING. I can't wait to serve it. Folks are going to go wild. I used a combo of quinoa, wild rice and bulghar. Yum!
This salad has gone onto my "very best grain salad" list (a very select list of a half dozen). Just fantastic. I used hulled and pearled barley, wheatberries and black quinoa. I didn't use the raisins and I cut the nuts in half while toasting. Really, really good. In the two days since I've made it, I've already passed it along to two people.
Top notch salad that is even better the next day. We've made it twice and marveled at it both times. Last time we used 1/2 wheat berries (because we're trying to get through a big purchase), 1/4 quinoa, and 1/4 wild rice. Last time we doubled the grains and the greens without incident; there's still enough dressing, so we would recommend it this way.
A great vegan sidedish that can be made ahead (just hold the arugula until last minute). Perfect for parties. I made it with wild rice, wheatberries, quinoa, and morello cherries. Toasting the pecan and marinating the shallot in vinegar also helped with a deeper flavour. Will make on a regular basis.
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I've made this salad for the first time today and can't stop eating it. It may not last to the dinner party tonight. Will give the leftovers to my ailing parents for a healthy and easy lunch! Thanks for sharing.
I cooked the grains and tossed them with the vinaigrrette and dried cherries, planning on adding the othe ingredients before lunch the next day. It was so yummy we at it like that. I used brown rice, red quino and wild rice. Agree that it makes quite a bit. Turned leftovers into a riff on th quinoa cakes from Supernatural Every Day.
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
Thanks for the leftovers tip!
Although - one warning - this does make a lot! I think next time I would halve the recipe unless I was cooking for a crowd.
This salad was fantastic! I was looking for something to do with a small amount of wild rice that had been hanging around in my pantry and stumbled upon this recipe. I also had a number of radishes from my CSA in my fridge that I just wasn't sure what to do with. I used a combination of wild rice, Bulgar wheat and french green lentils. I did make a couple of substitutions for what I had - walnuts instead of pecans, avocado oil instead of walnut oil, swiss chard instead of arugula and dill instead of tarragon. But I love it when a fantastic dish comes together using up things that where lying around in my kitchen! Thanks for sharing - although it is Memorial Day, this dish makes me think a lot of Thanksgiving - withe the cranberries and wild rice that makes me think of stuffing.
I made this recently and everyone loved it! Thanks for sharing!
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
Glad to hear it!
Just saved this recipe - looks amazing!
I just made this over the weekend and it is great. I love salads with lots of ingredients that all work together. And it is really colorful and pretty, which always makes eating it more enjoyable.
This is a fabulous salad. I've made it twice-both times making only half the recipe because there are only two of us eating. The salad lasts well and goes well with lots of foods-or as a snack! Thanks for posting it.
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