Santa Rosa Chicken and Wild Rice Salad

Santa Rosa Chicken and Wild Rice Salad puts cooked diced or shredded chicken, red bell pepper and chopped sugar snap peas at the center of a chicken recipe and finishes in about 35 minutes, enough for 6 servings.

• Yield 6 servings
• Ready in 35 minutes
• Prep 15 minutes
• Cook 20 minutes

Ingredients

Salad

• ¾ cup ( 170 g ) wild rice blend
• 2-3 cups cooked diced or shredded chicken , rotisserie chicken is a great option
• 1 red bell pepper , diced
• 1 cup chopped sugar snap peas , chopped, blanched asparagus works great as a sub
• 1-2 avocados , peeled and diced
• 1 head butter lettuce , chopped (optional)

Dressing

• ⅓ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
• ⅓ cup neutral-flavored oil , like vegetable, canola, avocado
• 2 cloves garlic , finely minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• Pinch of black pepper

Instructions

1. Cook the rice according to package directions. Scoop the cooked rice into a large serving bowl and let cool to room temperature (alternately, the rice can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator until needed).
2. Add the chicken, bell pepper, peas (or asparagus, if using), and avocado.
3. For the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a jar or blender and shake/process until well-combined. Add additional salt and pepper to taste, if needed.
4. Pour about 2/3 of the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Add more dressing to taste or for desired consistency, if needed.
5. Serve immediately or refrigerate the salad for 1-2 hours (you may want to save a bit of the dressing and toss the salad with it before serving if it has been refrigerated).
6. Give the salad a good toss before serving.
7. The chicken and rice salad can be served: a) on its own, b) over a bed of chopped butter lettuce, or c) tossed WITH the butter lettuce. Yum!

Dress it just before it goes to the table so the leaves stay crisp.