There’s nothing quite like a rustic salad. I absolutely love these types of salads and have prepared quite a few of them in the past three years. As a matter of fact, I posted each and every salad recipe right on this very blog. To view them, simply visit the Salads category. I’m proud to add this recipe to the list because its goodness fits in well with the others.
The Recipe
This salad includes plenty of ingredients that will be sure to fill you up. Ingredients such as brown rice, feta cheese, asparagus, toasted pecans and more. The flavor is there too. The dressing is a lemon vinaigrette that works well with everything else. I enjoyed this dish as it was simple, easy to prepare and quite pleasing on the palate.
Ingredients
Serves: 4-6
2 Cups Long Grain Brown Rice
Salt
Ground Black Pepper
Zest from 1 Lemon
3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
4 Teaspoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 Pound Asparagus, Ends Trimmed and Cut into 1-Inch Pieces
1 Shallot, Minced
2 Ounces Feta Cheese, Crumbled
1/4 Cup Pecans, Crushed and Toasted
1/4 Cup Parsley, Chopped
Step-by-Step Instructions
I’d like to thank America’s Test Kitchen for their wonderful resource called The Complete Mediterranean Cookbook. This recipe came out perfectly and I credit them with that.
Cook & Cool the Rice
For this step, follow the directions on your package of rice. For me, I brought five cups of water to a boil over high heat. I added a few pinches of salt to that water. Then, I added the rice, reduced the heat to low and let the rice simmer for 40 minutes. When it was finished, I added 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to the pot, mixed it in well and then spread the rice out on a large baking sheet to cool.
Cook the Asparagus
Warm a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet and then add the asparagus to it. Also add 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper to the skillet as well.
Stir and cook for about four minutes, just until the asparagus begins to turn vibrant green and soften up a bit.
When finished, remove the skillet from the heat.
Prepare the Vinaigrette
In a medium sized bowl, combine the remaining olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, a few pinches of salt and a few pinches of pepper.
Mix these ingredients well.
Combine Ingredients
In a large bowl, combine the cooled rice, asparagus and vinaigrette. Then, add in half of the feta cheese, parsley and pecans. Mix everything together well.
Plate & Serve
Transfer the contents of the bowl to a platter. Then, sprinkle the remaining cheese, parsley and pecans on top of the salad. Plate, serve and enjoy!
The Final Brown Rice Salad
I’m impressed by the texture and flavors of this salad and would definitely make it again. If you give this recipe a try, please let me know your thoughts in the comment section below. Thanks for reading!
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