Arugula Salad with Chicken, Dates and Buckwheat Crumble

Photo courtesy Oldways

In my last post, I wrote about why I love to grow arugula in my garden. As I mentioned, I had let my arugula go to seed last year and I now have tons growing everywhere. The result is that I’m having it at least twice a day as I need to clear it out of some areas in my garden to allow for other plants to thrive. It’s a tough job!

Not!

Here’s a delicious arugula salad for you adapted from Oldways. While it’s a recipe for two, it’s easily doubled or tripled.

The crunchy salad topping comes from toasting equal parts raw buckwheat (a.k.a. kasha) and hemp hearts over a warm skillet. And this warm nuttiness definitely beats out traditional croutons.

Arugula Salad with Chicken, Dates, and Buckwheat Crumble

Makes 2 servings

¼ cup uncooked buckwheat groats
¼ cup hemp hearts (shelled hemp seeds)
4 cups arugula (or other delicate salad greens, like spring mix)
6 dates, sliced
1 large grilled chicken breast (about 6 oz), diced

Salad dressing:

1 ½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp champagne vinegar

½ tsp honey

⅛ tsp salt

⅛ tsp pepper

In a small skillet, toast the buckwheat groats and hemp hearts over low heat until fragrant and toasted, but not burnt (about 10 minutes), shaking the skillet often. Remove from heat once toasted.

While the buckwheat and hemp are toasting, whisk together the salad dressing ingredients in a small bowl.

In a large bowl, toss arugula with then dressing, then add the dates, chicken and toasted buckwheat and hemp. Divide among 2 plates and serve.

Nutrition information per serving:
• Calories: 440
• Protein: 24 grams
• Fat: 18 grams
• Saturated fat: 1 gram
• Carbohydrate: 36 grams
• Dietary fibre: 6 grams
• Sodium: 250 milligrams