Brown Rice • Red Beans • Carrots • Celery • Bell Peppers • Parsley • Creamy (vegan) Cajun Ranch Dressing
By Green Garden Bakery youth and chef coach Bertrand Weber from MPS Culinary & Wellness Services
Transformation Nation by Green Garden Bakery
Would you like soup or salad?
Daraartu, Seth, Lalah and Aiisha from Green Garden Bakery on the Northside of Minneapolis channeled inspiration gleaned from their leadership trip to New Orleans last fall, which they described as personally transformative. They embraced the transformation theme by creating a salad that, with a few clever adjustments, turns into a gumbo.
Transformation Nation Salad
with Creamy (vegan) Cajun Ranch Dressing
Makes 8 (1-cup) servings
Salad Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked brown rice
- 1 (15-oz.) can red beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 ½ cups chopped rainbow carrots
- 1 ½ cups chopped celery
- 1 cup julienned red or yellow bell pepper
- ½ cup finely chopped red onion
- ½ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
- 8 cups mixed baby salad greens
Dressing Ingredients
- ¾ cup vegan mayonnaise
- ¼ cup non-dairy milk
- 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ tsp. dried parsley
- ½ tsp. dried dill
- ½ tsp. onion powder
- ¼ tsp. paprika
- ¼ tsp. Cajun spice blend
Directions
- Cook brown rice according to package directions.
- Mix rice and remaining salad ingredients, except the greens, in a large bowl.
- To make the dressing, process all the ingredients in blender until smooth.
- Stir half of the dressing into the salad mixture; toss to coat well. Arrange salad greens on plates. Spoon salad mixture on top; drizzle with remaining dressing.
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