Michelle Obama's Zesty chicken quinoa salad

First Lady Michelle Obama was joined by local DC students for this year’s Fall White House Kitchen Garden Harvest. Following the harvest, Mrs. Obama and students prepared a tasty lunch with the vegetables that were harvested.

Be sure to try out her recipe for Kitchen Garden Salad Bowl with Zesty Chicken, Quinoa, and Farro at home!

Makes 10-12 servings

INGREDIENTS:

For the vegetables:

2 cups kale, washed, thinly sliced

2 cups lettuces, washed, spun dry and cut into bite sized pieces

½ cup radishes, washed, sliced thinly

2 cups carrots, washed, peeled and grated

1 cup cherry tomatoes sliced in half

1 cup micro lettuces, washed, spun dry

2 cups eggplant, diced into ½ inch cubes

2 cups sweet potatoes, diced into ½ inch cubes

2 cups beans, cut into 2 inch length

2 cups pepper, cut into ½ inch cubes

¼ cup olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

For the chicken:

6 skinless chicken breast (you can also substitute grilled salmon)

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 tsp garlic, minced

1 Tbsp parsley, chopped finely

For the quinoa and farro:

1 cup white quinoa

1 cup red quinoa

1 cup farro

Salt to taste

For the dressing:

½ cup lemon juice

½ cup rice wine vinegar

1 Tbsp ginger, peeled and minced

1 Tbsp shallot, minced

2 tsp Dijon mustard

2 tsp honey

¼ cup grapeseed oil

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, toss the eggplant, sweet potatoes, beans and pepper with ¼ cup of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Place onto a sheet tray and roast for about ten minutes. Set aside to cool.

Combine the 1 cup quinoa and 1 ¾ cups of water in a medium size pot. Bring to a boil. Simmer for about 20 minutes.

Fluff and cool off onto a pan. Do the same for the red quinoa. For the farro, combine 1 cup of farro and 3 cups water in a medium sized pot. Bring to a boil and simmer down for about 30 minutes. Drain and set aside onto a tray to cool.

Heat a skillet over a medium high heat. In a medium bowl toss the chicken, garlic parsley and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Sear for about a minute on each side. Finish cooking in the preheated oven for about 8 minutes. Set aside to cool. Dice into ½ inch cubes.

For the dressing, whisk together the lemon juice, rice vinegar, ginger, shallots, honey, mustard and grapeseed oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

In a large mixing bowl, add the kale, lettuces, radishes, carrots and micro lettuces. Add the roasted vegetables and the cooked quinoa and farro. Add the diced chicken then drizzle the dressing over. Toss lightly and serve immediately.