Chicken wild rice salad with apples and tarragon

The latest food uproar in Minnesota is of course the New York Times’ bizarre offering of a truly odd grape salad as somehow a representative Thanksgiving dish for the state. Further proof we’re in flyover land. (And the Des Moines Register asserts that the equally odd choice of a Thanksgiving cookie for Iowa is actually a recipe from Illinois.) A Times editor involved in the project has since weighed in saying it was simply not well labeled what it purports to be. Whatever. (Although the recipe from Oregon might be worth trying.)

All sour grapes aside, it naturally made most Minnesotans think of the obvious choice: wild rice salad. This recipe is among my favorite wild rice dishes. I’ve been making it since it first came out in the magazine, and as the title suggests, it’s a great choice for this coming week when you might be looking for a different way to use up some turkey. Otherwise, I make it with the chicken leftover from making broth, or you could use a roti chicken.

Wild rice and chicken or turkey salad with tarragon

Adapted from Bon Appetit, March 1992

Ingredients

1¾ cup chicken broth

½ cup wild rice

2 cups chopped cooked chicken

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1 celery stalk, diced

½ large red apple, cored and chopped

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons tarragon vinegar

2 teaspoons tarragon mustard (or Dijon)

3 sprigs fresh tarragon, chopped, or 1 teaspoon dried

Method

Combine broth and wild rice in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook covered for about 50 minutes, or until rice is tender. Chill.

Combine chilled rice, chicken, green onion, celery and apple. Combine oil, vinegar, mustard and tarragon. Toss dressing over salad. Taste and add salt if needed. Cover and chill for at least an hour to allow flavors to meld.

Note: Those decadent microwavable pouches of wild rice make this a much faster fix. You'll most likely need to add salt if you use this method.