Friday Feast: Butter Bean, Wild Rice, And Garlic-Roasted Carrot Salad

Serves 6-8

Salad

• 1/2 cup wild rice
  
• 1 cup dried butter beans
  
• 4-5 medium carrots
  
• 4 cloves garlic
  
• 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  
• 1 bunch fresh dill
  
• sea salt
  
• freshly ground black pepper
  
• a handful of quick-pickled red onion (recipe follows)
  
• 1 batch massaged kale (recipe follows)
  

Dressing:

• 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
  
• 1 tbsp. maple syrup
  
• 2 tbsp. raw apple cider vinegar
  
• 3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  
• pinch of sea salt
  

Quick-Pickled Red Onion

• 175ml raw apple cider vinegar
  
• 125ml water
  
• 2 tsp. fine sea salt
  
• 3 tbsp. pure maple syrup
  
• 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
  

Massaged Kale

• 90g shredded curly kale
  
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
  
• 2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
  
• 2 pinches of fine sea salt, plus more as needed
  

1. Soak beans for 8 hours or overnight. Drain, rinse well and cover with fresh water. Add a teaspoon of sea salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until beans are soft – about 45 minutes.
   
2. While the beans are cooking, rinse the wild rice well, drain, and put in a pot. Cover rice with 1.5 cups fresh water, add a couple pinches of sea salt, bring to a boil, and reduce to simmer. Cook until rice is chewy-tender – about 45 minutes. You will know the rice is done when the grains open up to reveal their purple-gray inner portion.
   
3. Preheat the oven to 200°C. While the rice is cooking, wash the carrots and slice them on the diagonal into ‘coins’, place on a baking sheet. Grate the garlic with a microplane and combine it with the oil. Pour over carrots and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt. Place in the oven and roast, turning them a few times over the course of 15-20 minutes. The carrots should be cooked but not mushy – al dente!
   
4. Make the dressing by combining all ingredients together, shake well.
   
5. Now all the elements come together: Drain and rinse beans in cool water to stop the cooking process. Pour dressing over warm beans and toss. Let sit for 5 minutes or so. Drain the rice if any water remains, cool slightly. Mix with beans. Toss in the carrots, scraping the pan to add garlic oil to the remainder of the ingredients. Throw in the massaged kale, as many pickled onions as you fancy, and an explosion of dill. Cracked black pepper too, if it’s calling to you.
   
6. Serve immediately and enjoy.
   

Quick-Pickled Red Onion
Combine the vinegar, water, salt, and maple syrup in a large jar. Stir to dissolve the salt and syrup. Add the onions to the jar and put them in the fridge. Enjoy after at least 30 minutes, keeps for up to two weeks.

Massaged Kale
In a large bowl, combine the shredded kale, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt. Using your hands, rub and squeeze the kale together as if you are giving it a massage, until the kale leaves are dark green and tender, about 2 minutes. Enjoy immediately in the salad, or store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days.

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