Our asparagus plants aren’t quite at the stage of producing a lot just yet, we’ve waited patiently for the last few years as the crown establish themselves and this year we got just a handful of tender spears. None made it into the house, and instead were shared between my husband and I, eaten raw whilst standing in the garden. A gardeners treat.
Lucky for us, it’s really easy to get your hands on fresh asparagus in stores/farmers markets too and we have dedicated asparagus growers here in NZ who will also courier out boxes, (PSA, not sponsored) including the elusive purple asparagus.
This bowl of goodness is pretty much spring on a plate, lightly cooked asparagus, crisp radish, lemon and a ton of bright herbs. Delicious served fresh, but also surprisingly good eaten the next day.
Herbed Asparagus + Brown Rice Salad
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked and cooled medium-grain brown rice
- 500 g asparagus
- 3-4 radishes finely sliced
- handful flat parsley roughly chopped
salsa verde
- 1 cup mint leaves
- 1 cup flat parsley leaves
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons capers
- 1/2 cup (125ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- the finely grated zest 1 lemon
Instructions
- Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil. Place cooked brown rice in a large bowl. Snap the ends off the asparagus, and place into the boiling water. Cook 45-60seconds until just tender, drain and plunge into iced water. Drain, cut in half on a diagonal and add to the bowl of rice, along with the sliced radishes and chopped parsley.
- To make the salsa verde, combine mint and parsley in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. In a bowl, combine mustard, chopped capers, lemon zest, juice and olive oil. Stir through chopped herbs, season well with salt. Stir salsa verde through the brown rice mixture, taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
