Salade ou pas salade? – Salade tiède de céréales et mélange aux haricots blancs, crevettes, artichauts, vinaigrette aux citron et herbes

Lately I have not been too well, that’s why I haven’t been posting any recipe on a regular basis like I used to, and my desire and energy for cooking has gone down, hopefully it will pick up at some point. I have no motivation for sitting in front of my computer either, but I sincerely miss everyone, people I met through this blog have been incredibly supportive, kind and generous. Thanks so much for anyone who reads my blogs and leaves genuine comments, they mean a lot to me. I apologize if I have had a difficult time to catch up with everyone, I have had very low energy level and some health issues, but hopefully will get back to my regular routine soon.

I started writing this recipe about three weeks ago and never managed to finish it, it took me forever…so here it is after such a long time. This salad is composed with a well balanced mixture of grains, vegetables, and proteins, such a nutritious and flavorful dish.

I call this a salad since it has a dressing but it can be called anything you like, and can be consumed lukewarm or cold. The particularity of this dish is that I mixed eight varieties of grains and seeds such as brown rice, oats, lentils, pumpkin seeds, etc… for a mixed variety of textures. Maybe you’ll think this look more like a bird meal to you than a gourmet salad. It is definitely questionable, but after you taste it, you will think bird ingredients can taste incredibly tasty.

The grains have been enhanced with vegetables, and seafood which complement the grains quite well. This is nothing complicated, you just need various grains in your pantry.

Ingredients for 2-3

  • 200 g of mixed grains such as:
  • brown rice
  • wheat flakes
  • sorghum rice
  • buckwheat
  • pearl barley
  • black rice
  • pearl rice
  • red lentil
  • 1 tbs roasted pumpkin seeds
  • 10 large shrimps
  • 4 medium artichokes
  • 3 tbs dry white wine
  • 70 g cannellini beans cooked  (either dried or canned)

Ingredients for the herb-lemon vinaigrette

  • 3 tbs avocado oil
  • juice of one lemon
  • zest of 1/2 lemon
  • 1 tsp tarragon, chopped
  • 1 tsp parsley, chopped
  • 1 tsp chives, chopped
  • 1 tbs red onion, finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • one pinch cayenne pepper
  • salt and pepper

Preparation

Mix all grains together and steam them. You can steam them the same way you would steam rice, even if there are many varities of grains, some of them cook a little faster than others but it does not make a big difference cooking them all together. You can use a rice cooker or use the regular technique using a simple pot.

Trim artichokes, removing the hard leaves around, and cutting off the top of the artichoke. Cut in quarters and place in a container filled with water and lemon juice to prevent the artichokes from darkening.

In a pan, heat olive oil, add 1 garlic clove, then drain artichokes and add to the pan, stir for a few minutes, coating the artichokes with garlic and oil, then add wine, salt and pepper. Stir well. Cover with a lid and cook at medium heat until artichokes are tender. Remove from heat and set aside.

Saute shrimps in olive oil, add salt and pepper and set aside.

In a large container, mix steamed grains with artichokes, cannellini beans, shrimps, pumpkin seeds. Pour vinaigrette on top by mixing all ingredients together. Stir well and serve. You can serve at room temperature or cold.