Kale and Brown Rice Greek Salad

I’m not fond of eating salads that are great piles of leaves, especially not kale. But when leafy greens are cut into a chiffonade (thin ribbons) and mixed with rice or reduced to a chopped salad I’m more than happy to consume them. Never fails. Why don’t I prep them this way more often?

This dish is one I made a little differently and posted here several years ago. That version of it was great too- there’s a lot of wiggle room with this recipe. You can use less rice, or use barley, or add chunks of peppers and cucumbers… Maybe zucchini too, although you won’t see me doing that to a perfectly good salad. (Zucchini is probably my least favorite food, except when it’s prepared a few, select ways.)

Kale and Brown Rice Greek Salad

3 cups kale (about) stems removed and cut into a chiffonade
2 cups cooked brown rice
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
1/2 cup chopped green onion
2 medium tomatoes, chopped (Mine were yellow!)
Juice of one lemon
4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
1 Tbs. Dried oregano
2 tsp. dried mint

Mix it all together and let it sit and marinate a bit. I dumped my rice hot from the pan onto my kale, which might have softened my kale up a bit and the olive brine and lemon juice might help too. I always find kale a bit overwhelming, but not when it’s cut super-thin.

I’ve always eaten this cold, but I bet it would be great warm too. Like I said, there’s a lot of wiggle room. Let me know if you wiggle this idea a bit!