Rice & Artichoke Salad

Today was one of those amazingly spectacular days. I’d rate it one of the year’s ten best weather days.

After a long, cold winter it felt good to have clear skies and temperatures in the mid-80’s. My sister, niece and I spent the weekend at the beach. We went for long walks, visited with a cousin we don’t get to see too often, reminisced, shared recipes, soaked in the ocean air & sun, and napped. Perfection.

On my way home I stopped at Whole Foods to get something to put on the grill — a flank steak. I planned to make a quick and simple dinner.

I remembered I’d bought Fully Cooked Organic Brown Rice at Trader Joe’s (and according to their website it’s gluten-free). So, I decided to add a few things and serve that as a side. The good news is it only took about 5 minutes - no kidding!

06.26.09: Revised recipe ever so slightly to provide additional options for those with varied food allergies.

Rice & Artichoke Salad

This recipe soon to be featured in the Easy As Pie recipe database! (Thanks to Amy at the Easy As Pie Test Kitchen.)

1 bowl Trader Joe’s Fully Cooked Organic Brown Rice (7.4 oz.)
2 tablespoons chopped marinated artichokes*
2 tablespoons chopped sundried tomatoes or roasted peppers
1 teaspoon chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
salt & pepper
oil & balsamic vinegar

Prepare the rice according to the package directions (tear back cover slightly and microwave on high for 1 minute).

Spoon the rice into a small bowl. Add the chopped artichokes, sundried tomatoes or roasted peppers, and basil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Dress with the lemon juice, oil and vinegar. Stir together. Let sit for 10 minutes and serve.

This makes enough for 3 people so if you have a bigger group you’ll need to double the recipe.

*You can use plain artichoke hearts—canned or thawed frozen ones—if you don’t have marinated artichokes in your pantry or are concerned about possible hidden ingredients in bottled marinated artichokes. Or, make your own marinated artichokes instead. Here’s a recipe from Saveur:

Marinated Artichoke Hearts

1 9-oz. box frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon crushed red chile flakes
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Rinse artichoke hearts under cold water. Combine artichokes, oil, salt, thyme, oregano, and chile flakes in a 1-qt. saucepan set over medium-low heat. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the flavors meld, 10 minutes.

Let cool to room temperature and stir in lemon juice. Serve or refrigerate in a covered container for up to 1 week.

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Roasted & Wrapped Asparagus

Here’s the second recipe I “cooked” up for the Friday Foodie Fix on The W.H.O.L.E. Gang blog. I’ve never used Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese before. (I know, you can’t see the cream cheese but it’s in there.) To my surprise it worked remarkably well. The herbs, lemon, and balsamic vinegar provided the edge that was definitely needed to make this recipe work. And, the sun-dried tomatoes just seemed like a perfect accompaniment to the flavors of the asparagus and prosciutto.

This recipe is defintely more savory than the Asparagus Mango Salad but has the same saltiness and variety of flavors.

I think it would be great to use cream cheese or a cream cheese/goat cheese combination if you aren’t avoiding dairy or are avoiding soy. In fact, an easy option would be herbed goat chevre.

This is a very attractive and tasty appetizer to serve to family or friends.

Roasted & Wrapped Asparagus

12-15 asparagus spears
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper

½ cup Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
1 tablespoon dried basil
½ teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon olive oil
½ teaspoon white balsamic vinegar
about 8 sun-dried tomatoes, diced
salt and pepper

½ pound prosciutto

Preheat the oven to 400° F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment.

Bring the “cream cheese” to room temperature. Mix in the basil, lemon zest, olive oil, vinegar, salt and a generous helping of pepper until thoroughly incorporated. Stir in the diced sun-dried tomatoes. Return the mixture to the refrigerator.

Rinse and trim the asparagus. Place the spears one layer thick on the cookie sheet. Drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes until tender. Remove and cool – about 15-30 minutes.

Now you’ll start to assemble the prosciutto, cheese and asparagus. Take one piece of prosciutto at a time. Trim the top and bottom and any fat from the meat. If the prosciutto piece is large you may be able to get two pieces out of it – each piece need only be about 3 or 4 inches in length.

Take about 1 to 2 teaspoons of the “cheese” mixture and spread it about an inch from the edge along the short end of the prosciutto. Place the asparagus on the cheese and begin wrapping the short end of the prosciutto over the asparagus continuing to the end of the prosciutto. Wrap each of the asparagus spears the same way.

Place the wrapped spears on a serving plate and return to the refrigerator until ready to serve. These can be made any time during the day they are to be served.

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