Chicken, Bean and Wild Rice Salad

A healthy, hearty main dish chicken and wild rice salad with two types of beans, peas and Mandarin oranges tossed with a raspberry vinaigrette.

Recipe Ingredients:

Raspberry Vinaigrette:
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup raspberry or red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots or red onion
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons orange juice

Salad:
1 (6.2-ounce) package fast-cooking long grain and wild rice, cooked without spice packet, cooled
1 (15-ounce) can light or dark red kidney beans, rinsed, drained
1 (15-ounce) can black beans or pinto beans, rinsed, drained
1 (11-ounce) can Mandarin orange segments, drained
1 cup loose pack frozen peas, thawed
Raspberry Vinaigrette (recipe follows)
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
6 cups spinach leaves
12 to 16 ounces broiled or grilled boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced or cubed
1 (15-ounce) can julienne beets, drained
1/2 cup coarsely chopped toasted pecan halves (optional)

Cooking Directions:

1. For Raspberry Vinaigrette: Whisk together the all ingredients. Prepared ahead, refrigerate until serving time. Mix again before using. Makes about 1 cup.
2. For Salad: Combine rice, beans, orange segments, and peas; pour 2/3 cup Raspberry Vinaigrette over and toss. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Spoon salad onto spinach-lined plates, arrange chicken on salad; spoon beets to the side. Drizzle remaining 1/3 cup Raspberry Vinaigrette over beets and chicken. Sprinkle with pecans, if desired.

Makes 6 servings (about 1 cup each).

Tip: To save time, prepared raspberry vinaigrette dressing can be used. To cool rice quickly, spread cooked rice on a cookie sheet and refrigerate.

Recipe provided courtesy of The Bean Education & Awareness Network.