Superheros in Season: Asparagus, Seed & Brown Rice Super Salad

Did anyone read the Borough Market blog post by Ed Smith, about the super short but super exciting asparagus season which we are now in? I challenge anyone to read it and NOT run out the door to buy some fresh, English asparagus.

(Seriously... go... now!!)

Obviously, I gained a full on obsession about these funky looking vegetables after looking at the post and spent the whole day in overdrive about how I could work some into a dish for someone who is less than keen - the VT-BF. He's not really a fan of any of the vegetables, or the fruits, or the wholemeal stuff... but he is on a bit of a health kick at the moment, so I decided to pounce on this fact, armed fully with my spear-headed friends. Seriously - look at an asparagus spear: at its lean, flexible body, its greenness brighter than spring, and its face full of arrows that say 'I may look delicate, but I mean business'. It's the ultimate superhero of the food world. And that's how I came up with the...

Asparagus, Seed and Brown Rice Super Salad

I served this salad warm, but it would work equally well chilled.

1. Boil a pan of salted water and add the rice. Let it cook - look at the instructions on the packet, but it usually takes around 25mins. Do everything else while it's simmering away.

2. Chop the asparagus into pieces about 2cm long. Heat the oil in a pan then add the aspargus and garlic on a medium heat. It would be great to get a little sizzle going, but not too much - you don't want these precious things burning.

3. Add in the beans and the coriander. I used coriander because I already had some in the fridge, but other fresh herbs would work nicely too - parsley would be great. Then stir in the seeds, and when it's ready, the rice. Cube up the feta, and stir through with the salt and pepper, and a little white wine vinegar. A squeeze of fresh lemon would be great if you have it.

That is truly a super quick, super nutritious and super healthy meal. The Avengers should eat this, and stand in wonder as all the goodness of the asparagus works its way around their bodies. It's protein packed, is filling, and is a worthy example of healthiness meeting happiness.

Some people might find it a bit blasphemous to surrender the seasonal asparagus to this frenzy of other (GREAT) ingredients, and please - I agree that little needs to be done to these humble spears to bring out the beauty inside and out of them (have you tried it on a barbecue?!). But sometimes you have to work a little magic to make the fussier amongst us consume what NEEDS to be consumed - I should know, as I'm one of the fussiest.

Remember, asparagus goes as quick as The Flash, so make sure you snap it up before the end of July. It spends the rest of the year fighting crime in a parallel universe*.

*proof needed

Served: three, or if you wanted to do it as a starter or a side, easily four.

Took: 25mins - basically as long as the rice takes. Everything is super quick to achieve.

Things that went wrong: nothing - this is fool proof. Probably because it gives you brain cells when you eat it!