July 2022
A midsummer night's dinner
Wild Rice + Blackberry Salad w/Fish Sauce Vinaigrette
Cool and crunchy with a hint of funk.
I hope you’re all enjoying the long days as summer unfurls. This herbaceous summer salad has become such a perennial favorite that we’ve come to associate blackberry season with it. The mélange of textures and flavors delivers the seasonal freshness we crave, the wild rice provides some heft and a toothy bite, and the vinaigrette unites it all. We serve it with grilled flank steak, but it would be a great accompaniment for other grilled meats, black cod, or a hearty white fish such as halibut as well.
Serves 4
Salad Ingredients:
1 ½ cups (uncooked) wild rice blend — I use Lundberg Wild Blend
½ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt (to salt the water)
2-6 oz. packages of ripe summer blackberries (set 4 berries aside for the dressing)
2 Persian cucumbers, very thinly sliced, preferably with a mandolin
2 cups roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley
½ cup whole tarragon leaves (stems removed)
Flake salt for finishing
Dressing ingredients:
4 blackberries
1 large garlic clove, finely grated on a Microplane
3 tablespoons Champagne vinegar
2 tablespoons Red Boat (brand) fish sauce
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons honey
Make the dressing:
Place four blackberries in a small bowl and use a fork to mash them. Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and whisk until combined. Refrigerate until ready to use. Making it a few hours (up to a day) in advance allows the flavors to develop.
Cook the wild rice:
Cook 1 ½ cups of the wild rice blend (plus ½ teaspoon of Himalayan pink salt) in a medium pot according to the manufacturer’s directions. Transfer the cooked rice to a large mixing bowl. Fluff it with a fork and allow it to cool to room temperature. Once cool, assemble the salad — or cover and refrigerate until ready to use. You can make the rice a day in advance if you’d like.
Assemble the salad:
When ready to serve, add the cucumbers, parsley, and tarragon to the bowl of rice and toss gently to combine. Add the vinaigrette and toss again to coat. Divide it between four plates and top each one with blackberries. Sprinkle with flake salt and serve.
Recipe notes:
For the best results, I recommend you don’t make any substitutions. In developing this recipe, I tried using white wine vinegar instead of Champagne vinegar, but the dressing lost its brightness. I’ve also tried using English cucumbers, but the texture of a Persian cucumber is much more suitable for this salad.
Grilled Marinated Flank Steak
A simple summer staple.
As San Diego’s June gloom gives way to summer’s full glory, our grills are getting a workout! This simple flank steak can easily step in as a summer staple. I give it a 24-hour flavor bath, and then it’s onto a scorching hot grill for a quick sear. Flank steak is a particularly lean and flavorful cut of beef and is readily available at any grocer. If you’re adhering to a soy-free diet, coconut aminos are a great substitution for the soy sauce often found in marinades.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 ½ pounds flank steak (I prefer grass-fed)
3 garlic cloves, grated on a Microplane
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
½ cup coconut aminos (see notes)
Marinate:
Marinate 24-hours before grilling. Add the grated garlic, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, and coconut aminos to a large ziplock baggie. Place the flank steak in the baggie and swoosh it around until all surface areas are coated. Press the air out of the bag and place it on a plate to catch any drips. Store it in the refrigerator until ready to use. You can do this the night before grilling and flip it over in the morning so the other side gets its share of the marinade.
Grill it quickly on high heat:
Flank tends to get chewier the longer it’s cooked, so cooking it to medium rare is ideal. Grill on high heat for about 4-6 minutes per side, depending on the thickness — until an instant-read thermometer indicates it’s reached an internal temperature of 135 degrees. Taking it out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before grilling will help it cook more evenly.
Let your steak rest:
Rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting into it so the juices can redistribute.
Slice it against the grain:
This is critical to keeping a cut such as flank nice and tender.
To serve:
The marinade does not contain salt, so be sure to sprinkle the flank steak liberally with flake salt after grilling it. Add freshly ground pepper if you’d like.
Recipe notes:
I prefer Big Tree Farms brand coconut aminos (original). Look for a brand that only contains coconut nectar, water, and salt.
Last thing!
Thanks for being here - I hope your summer is going swimmingly! x
—Rachel