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!

Super Gnocchi: Inspiration from Borough Market Demonstration Kitchen

The Demonstration Kitchen at Borough Market is such a good idea. It's not an in depth class that you have to study vigorously or dive head first into - it's like a little show that you can dip in and out of while you eat your lunch, really a social event, so all elements of daunt are completely absent. When I discovered that Celia Brooks, author of 5:2 Vegetarian, was taking the stand, I really wanted to get down there. I've been considering 5:2 for a while* (it's very much NOT recommended for diabetics though, I should say) but, ahem, failed on my first day. I'd like to blame the primary reason for this on the lack of vegetarian recipes out there for this popular diet: I bought the official 5:2 book from Amazon and was really disappointed with the huge focus on meat (and lack of pictures!), so I was both intrigued and excited to see what Celia came up with.

*personal hypocrisy alarm. When I first heard about the 5:2, my reaction was "there is NO WAY 500 calories a day a healthy - no one should do this!". I guess my own vanity beat my morals this time...

Anyway, the thing that I really liked about Celia's menu for the kitchen was that it looked like it could be completely tomatoless, and even mushroomless (although it seems as the Caramelised Artichokes were swapped to Garlic Mushrooms on the day - bummer for me but great for all the mushroomphiles as it's a really good recipe). Delighted with my free recipe sheet (they're always available if you go to the Demo Kitchen), I chose to opt not for the Cauliflower Couscous or Saffron Celariac and Puy Lentil Bowl - they both sound delicious but I decided to accommodate my veggie-hesitant BF's needs. The Spinach and Ricotta Gnocchi with Sage Butter won in all sorts of ways.

As I have a bit of a problem with sticking to recipes and always feel the need to force my own ideas upon the poor things, this is my own take on the gnocchi, for reasons of availability, preference and spontaneity - but was fully inspired by Celia's wonderful recipe. Certain substitutions included:

- a mix of rocket and kale instead of spinach
- chives instead of parseley
- mascarpone instead of ricotta
- mature cheddar instead of parmesan (that was purely an "I've already got cheddar in the fridge" thing, parmesan would have probably been more delicious)

and a few other bits. Which means, here is the process for

Baked Kale and Rocket Gnocchi with Sage and Baby Leek Butter

I saw the baby leeks in the supermarket and got a bit broody, so I wanted to incorporate them into the dish.

1) Preheat oven to 150C. Wilt the kale and then squeeze out all of the moisture. Make sure you cut out the chunky stalks and then chop as finely as possible. Mix thoroughly with all the gnocchi ingredients, so that quite a stiff dough is formed.

I didn't realise - if you chop chives reaaally finely, they make you cry

2) Boil a large pan of salted water. Shape the gnocchi mix into little balls (work out your size preference - I found smaller balls gave the impression of going further, although bigger ones were impressive to look at) and drop into the pan in batches (don't overcrowd). As soon as they float, lift them out with a slotted spoon and place onto a baking tray.

I've found the savoury version of wanting to lick the cake bowl

3) Make the sauce - put the butter, leeks and sage in a pan and cook gently until the butter is completely melted and the leeks softened. Pour this over the gnocchi in the baking tray and top with a good grating of Gruyère, or any other hard cheese you have to hand.

4) Bake for 10 mins, or until the sage is nicely crisped and the gnocchi are screaming at you to eat them, because they look so damn good.

Mmmmmm. This was so yummy, and even pretty healthy: the fat content could be lower (although I did use low fat mascarpone), but because of the absence of potatoes and small use of flour, this was a deceptively uncarby dish. And I got the VT-BF to eat kale!

Served: two portions, although I honestly thought we'd get four.
Took: About 45 mins. The concept itself doesn't take long at all, it's just cooking in batches that holds you up.
Things that went wrong: THERE WAS NOT ENOUGH. I wanted to eat this again the next night. The cooking itself was delightfully easy and therapeutic.

Celia Brooks' awesome blog about 5:2 vegetarianism is here, and you can catch your next Demonstration Kitchen at Borough Market here. Both thoroughly recommended!