Spring Wild Rice Salad

I am a huge fan of 101 Cookbooks. The recipes are always so fresh, healthy, tasty, and the pictures are gorgeous! I look at Heidi's recipes anytime I need some inspiration for dinner. A few weeks ago I happened to have all the ingredients for this delicious Spring Wild Rice Salad, so I made it! Scott and I loved it - the girls did not. But that just meant more for us! I'll make this again for sure!

Spring Wild Rice Salad

Ingredients:

1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch segments

4 cups cooked wild rice*

1 cup cooked yellow split peas**

1 bunch chives, chopped

1/4 cup goat cheese, crumbled (optional)

Almond Dressing:

1 garlic clove, smashed and chopped

1/4 cup almond butter

zest of one lemon

scant 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

scant 1/4 cup hot water

scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

Directions:

1. Whisk together the garlic, almond butter, lemon zest and juice, and olive oil. Add the hot water to thin a bit and then the salt. Set aside.
2. Bring a saucepan full of water to a boil. Salt the water and add the asparagus. Cook for just a minute - until the asparagus is just bright and tender. Drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking.
3. In a large bowl combine the wild rice, yellow split peas, asparagus, and about half of the almond dressing. Give it a good toss. Add more dressing if needed. Taste, and add more salt if needed. Serve topped with chives and crumbled goat cheese.

*I followed the directions on my box of wild rice for how long to cook it.

**To cook dried yellow spilt peas: Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a large saucepan, add 3/4 cup dried yellow split peas, and cook for 20 -30 minutes, or until tender. Drain, salt to taste and set aside.

***Heidi also suggested pan frying the cooked lentils for a minute or so to give it a little more texture. I did, and enjoyed it!

Sorry - I neglected to take any pics of this dish. But if you look at 101 Cookbooks, you'll see all the beautiful photos of Heidi's recipes!

Fresh Asparagus Soup

Asparagus was finally on sale at my grocery store last week, so I bought 2 bunches thinking we were going to have company for dinner one night. Those plans fell through, so I was stuck with 2 pounds of beautiful asparagus and no plans for their future. I roasted one bunch with some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and a couple of cloves of garlic (a Moosewood recipe), but I wanted to make something different with the second bunch. Because of the cold, rainy weather today, I decided to make a soup! I searched online for a recipe that would use the ingredients I already had, and found this one on Allrecipes.com. I changed it just a little:


Fresh Asparagus Soup

1 pound fresh asparagus
1 shallot, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 1/4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup milk
1/2 cup yogurt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
crushed red pepper to taste


Saute onion and shallot in olive oil until onion is translucent. While the onion is cooking, snap the woody end off the asparagus and discard. Then chop the asparagus into 2 inch pieces. When onion is translucent, add the asparagus and stir it around for a few minutes. Then add 1/2 cup broth, bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer until the asparagus is tender.
Reserve a few asparagus tips for garnish. Place remaining vegetable mixture in food processor and puree until smooth.
Melt butter in the pan that was used for simmering the asparagus and onions. Stir while sprinkling flour, salt, and pepper into the butter. Do not let the flour brown. Allow the mixture to cook only 2 minutes. Stir in remaining 1 1/4 cups vegetable broth and increase the heat. Continue stirring until the mixture comes to a boil.
Stir the vegetable puree and milk into the saucepan. Whisk yogurt into the mixture, followed by lemon juice. Stir until heated through, then ladle into bowls. Garnish with reserved asparagus tips. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if desired and crushed red pepper for a little added heat.

The original recipe is great, I'm sure. I added a shallot because I found one in the back of my veg drawer and wanted to use it up. I sauteed the onion and shallot instead of just boiling them in the broth because I don't like a strong raw onion flavor, and I was afraid that would overpower the soup. I didn't have soy milk, so I just used the skim milk I had. I'm sure any milk would taste great. And, of course, I added crushed red pepper because I like a little spice! It was quite tasty, and it really hit the spot tonight. Yum!
And look at how pretty it was:




BTW - This recipe gave me one more reason to covet an immersion blender. I'll just add it to the list of things to buy when we sell the house in TX!