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It's nice to have a few salad recipes that can serve as main dishes, and the rice in this one makes it especially filling. A big forkful of tender leaves with little piles of rice, sweet dates and crunchy nuts made the perfect combination of flavors and textures.

This was a tough recipe to name. I thought about calling it a wild rice, chickpea, date, cashew, celery and mixed green salad, but decided that something simpler might be best. Needless to say, there's a lot going on in this salad -- and it's all good.

I've had rice salads (no lettuce) that include fruit and nuts, which prompted me to add dates -- a nice, meaty alternative to dried cranberries or raisins -- and cashews, which are smooth and buttery, and blend well with the other ingredients. And as for the chickpeas, I just wanted more protein, and they fit in without taking over. There's also some chopped celery in there for a fresh crunch.

The dressing is simple: basic balsamic vinaigrette with brown sugar. I like sweet dressings, and the brown sugar highlighted the dates. But you could certainly use a citrus vinaigrette. For other interpretations, play around with different combinations of nuts and fruit or add bacon. For non-vegetarians, I think bacon would taste amazing in here. I used wild rice, but brown rice is a great alternative. And any type of whole grain would do.

I first made this in a family member's kitchen that lacked some basic measuring cups, so some of my original measurements were approximate. But this isn't a recipe that calls for exact science. Experiment!

Wild Rice and Mixed Greens Salad

Serves 4 to 6 as a main course

For the salad:

1 cup wild rice

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