Harvest Spiced Apple Grain Bowl

Name: Harvest Spiced Apple Grain Bowl
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 Taylor Farms Spiced Apple Chopped Salad Kit; 1 cup cooked wild rice; Olive oil; Kosher Salt; Cracked black pepper; 1 tsp smoked paprika; 1 small sweet potato, diced; 3 figs, quartered

Fall harvest season is always a bountiful time, something we’ve managed to capture in our Spiced Apple Chopped Salad Kit full of cabbage, romaine, shredded broccoli, green onion, honey-roasted mini sesame chips, cinnamon-puffed apples, and smoked gouda cheese.

While excellent when enjoyed on its own, the Spiced Apple Chopped Salad Kit just so happens to contain the ideal components for a hearty and even more bountiful Harvest Spiced Apple Grain Bowl—it just needs a few more ingredients to join the autumn festivities. The addition of fresh figs, sweet potatoes, and wild rice provides a satiating burst of fall flavors that are perfect for those cooler, crisp evenings in the fall.

Ingredients

1 Taylor Farms Spiced Apple Chopped Salad Kit
1 cup cooked wild rice
Olive oil
Kosher Salt
Cracked black pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 small sweet potato, diced
3 figs, quartered

Directions

Prepare wild rice according to package instructions and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 400 F. Dice the sweet potato and place onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Drizzle potato with an even layer of olive oil and sprinkle on kosher salt, cracked black pepper, and smoked paprika. Toss together and bake for 25-30 minutes or until roasted tender and golden.
Prepare the Spiced Apple Chopped Salad Kit, including adding the toppings, but hold off on adding the dressing until the final step.
Slice 3 figs into quarters.
Divide prepared Spiced Apple Chopped Salad Kit into two shallow bowls. Top with roasted sweet potato, ½ cup of the cooked wild rice, and several quartered figs.
Drizzle with apple cider vinaigrette and serve!

Wild Rice vs. (Tame) Rice

So, what’s the deal with wild rice? What makes it so wild? Well, perhaps the fact that it’s not even rice. Yes, wild rice is indeed a bit of a misnomer because it’s actually semi-aquatic grass. However, it is still related to rice and behaves like it, so the name stuck at some point.

Originally harvested by Ojibwe Native Americans around Lake Superior, wild rice is similar to ordinary white or brown rice, but has a darker color, a slightly different texture, and an earthier flavor—making this grain an excellent complement to the tastes of fall.

About Those Figs…

Figs have a sweet, honey-like flavor and were actually used as a sweetening agent in desserts before cane sugar was invented. Figs are usually thought of as fruit, and they certainly look like fruit, but they are really a group of small flowers growing inside an edible shell. Crazy, right?Although they’re mostly grown in fabulous places like Greece, Portugal, Turkey, and Spain, figs also thrive in some locations within California and Texas.

Fig season is quite short and peaks in autumn, so they’re fairly prevalent in many fall recipes—both savory and sweet. They’re also known for their delicate nature and short shelf life, which is why dried figs are a much more common form. In this recipe, you get the true fig experience by using the fresh, whole version of figs, and yes! You can eat the outside skin! If you can’t seem to find any at your local grocer, dried figs would make for a suitable substitute.