Lemony Roasted Asparagus, Rice & Pea Salad

with fresh crunchy celery, matchstick carrots, basmati rice, fresh dill, marinated feta, toasted sunflower seeds and a lovely light lemon vinaigrette

A bright, tangy salad that just screams spring! The mix of roasted, crisp-tender asparagus, fresh squeezed lemon, sweet peas, crunchy chopped celery and matchstick carrots, sweet onions, basmati rice, fresh dill, marinated feta, roasted sunflower seeds and a lovely light lemon vinaigrette, this Lemony Roasted Asparagus, Rice & Pea Salad has the perfect mix of textures, colors and flavors and is perfect for munching on a warm spring day.

I have a small confession to make: I actually made this salad (and wrote down the recipe … and photographed it) last July. Even though I still had fresh garden asparagus in my fridge, it seemed a little late to post an asparagus salad recipe, so I let it sit in my backlog, waiting to be shared. until asparagus season came round again.

After a long, very snowy winter that even bled into spring, I’m super excited to have the first bit of fresh garden asparagus in my hot little hands. Mom and Dad were so sweet and let my sister and I pick off ALL the asparagus in their bed (knowing that it would replenish itself in just a couple days), so I have a bunch of asparagus to play with now. I looked back at the photos I had yet to process and found this lovely treasure, something I created back when I had some leftover basmati rice and some fresh asparagus to use up. I threw in some peas because that just seemed like the right thing to do, along with some crunchy chopped celery, onion for flavor, matchstick carrots for color and roasted sunflower seeds for a bit of tender chewy crunch. With a little creamy, salty feta on top and a lemony vinaigrette with a bit of honey and mustard, it was just perfect.

The only thing was: it made enough for a small army to eat, and there was only me to eat it. Granted, a VERY small army but it seemed like a lot to my small appetite! Still, I ate it ALL by myself and thoroughly enjoyed my little crunchy chopped salad.

Is this dish heart healthy?

Yes, just as written, I can definitively say that this dish IS heart healthy. Today, given my recent cholesterol goal, I probably would substitute brown basmati rice, quinoa or barley or another high-fiber grain for the white basmati rice, to give this recipe a bit more heart healthy fiber. Still, even if you use the white rice, you’re getting over 5 grams of fiber per serving, plus a whole lot of good nutrients, antioxidants and almost 10 g of protein.

Can this dish be vegan?

This dish is naturally vegetarian … the only thing that keeps it from being vegan is the feta cheese. So substitute a vegan cheese or just leave that part off if you want a vegan salad.

Can I add meat?

Absolutely you can add meat! I would suggest cooked chopped chicken, turkey, ham or pork … or even some cooked salmon or crab. Maybe a little bit of chopped bacon? Go ahead and play with this recipe and adapt it to your own liking.

Lemony Roasted Asparagus & Pea Salad

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 6 - 8 servings 1x

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Ingredients

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• 1 lb. asparagus, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil (best if from marinated feta – recipe here)
• 2 – 3 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped
• 2 large spears of celery, chopped
• About 2 cups leftover cooked basmati rice
• 1 cup matchstick carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped vidalia onion (or green onion)
• 2 cups frozen peas

For the dressing:

• Zest & juice of 1 lemon
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil from marinated feta
• 1 Tablespoon garlic mustard aioli (or a garlicky mustard)
• 1/2 Tablespoon honey
• About 1 Tablespoon fresh snipped dill greens

For the top: crumbled marinated feta (recipe here) and toasted sunflower seeds

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. On a baking sheet, toss the chopped asparagus and garlic with the olive oil. Roast at 400 F. for 10 minutes or until the asparagus is bright green and crisp tender.
2. Set the asparagus aside to cool a bit. In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients.
3. In a large mixing or salad bowl, toss together the celery, rice, carrots and onion. Add the asparagus and frozen peas and stir until the peas are thawed and the asparagus is cooled. Stir in the dressing, then crumble some marinated feta on top and sprinkle with sunflower seeds. Enjoy!

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Notes

RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/

© Copyright 2019, Sumptuous Spoonfuls. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to publish any of my images, please ask first. If you want to republish this recipe as your own, please re-write the recipe in your own words or link back to this post for the recipe.