My shoulders are lightly pink from running a race yesterday in Ithaca, Central New York’s sunniest of towns. (This is the place that collectively banned Wal-Mart from setting up shop — thus holding my cultural allegiance and continued patronship.) With temperatures hovering around 15 Celsius, the past two days have seen their share of rolled down windows, bike rides, hammocks and barbeques. (The latter two sent my way care of friends.)
Though I’ve cooked asparagus already — how unseasonal of me, I know— it’s time to officially welcome it into my repertoire as a spring staple. Woody stalks and blossoming tips, you are hereby declared most esteemed guest of dinners to come.
I’ve been inspired lately by Heidi’s healthy-looking goodies over at 101 Cookbooks, and so chose to indulge my asparagus fancies with one of her rice bowl recipes. I must say that I wasn’t thrilled with the last two things I made from her blog (this is likely due to my own shortcomings and not her lack of culinary finesse), but was determined to find something in her wholesome foods database that would turn out as earthy and natural looking as her photos proclaimed. The chosen dish seemed like a smooth transition from a rice n’ beans winter to a fresh green spring.
Settling on a dinner that promised to come together in ten minutes (after cooking the rice) I got to work chopping onions, garlic and asparagus, and whisking tahini, garlic and lemon juice. It wasn’t until I was finished that I realized its uncanny similarity to another salad I featured on this here little site. Oh well, guess I’m a sucker for the nutty tartness of tahini-kissed chickpeas.
What I wish to share with you tonight is a twofold lesson. One, experiment with rice. For those of you in Syracuse, Wegman’s carries the Lundberg Family Farms’ line of ecologically- and sustainably-farmed rice blends. For this recip,e I used their (very affordable) Wehani brown rice. If the following recipe doesn’t convince you, maybe the fact that it smells like pumpkin pie while it cooks will. (Also check out Han’s market for their massive bags of Thai black rice and other pretty shades of the ubiquitous white grain.)
Secondly, I want to talk about oil. Olive, coconut, safflower, sesame, walnut, peanut, flaxseed—it’s like a Romantic poem in the making. And frankly, this ever-expanding list of oils to try is starting to confuse me. Each with its own unique smoke point, health benefits, balance of omega-3s, etcetera etcetera, it’s all left me floundering. I’m going to try to be patient with myself and let my oil knowledge evolve at a natural pace.
But making tonight’s dinner taught me that what I’ve been reading about olive oil at least is correct. And that is that extra virgin olive oil is best consumed raw, in terms of taste and nutrition. I won’t bore you with all the technical talk about free radicals and fatty acids, saving my words instead for the veneration of olive oil as garnish: when a bite of tonight’s dinner proved a little dry, instead of adding more dressing I tried a drizzle of olive oil — a technique applauded in cookbooks and on health websites. It was exactly what the dish needed.
When you bring virgin or first (cold)-pressed olive oil to high temperatures, you miss out on the liquid perfume that it truly is. In Alice Waters’ words, “It is simply a waste to expose extra virgin oil to the direct heat of a pan as its fruity character and color are soon lost.” Alternately, olive oil under the name “pure” is made from extracting the oil through other methods and then refining it. Refined oils are actually better to cook with, as they are already “accustomed” to heat. I will probably continue to cook with my liquid gold, given the industrial-sized tin of it we bought last fall (apparently another no-no), but will now consider it a tabletop companion to my salt and pepper shakers. Try it on grilled or steamed veggies, salads and appetizers, grilled meats, and drizzled over soups and pasta.
I keep olive oil, along with balsamic vinegar, in empty wine bottles with pour tops fitted into the necks. I stole this idea from a friend, and love its convenience and stylishness.
Spring Rice Bowl (with Asparagus and Brown Rice)
serves 4 as a main dish, more as a side
for the main dish:
3 Tbsp cooking oil (I’ll let you decide…peanut, grapeseed, coconut, canola, olive)
1 or 2 14-ounce cans of chickpeas, drained
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 bunch asparagus, woody ends snapped off and stalks cut into 1-inch pieces
3 cups pre-cooked brown rice
1 cup almond slivers or slices, toasted
sea salt
for the tahini dressing:
1 garlic clove, crushed and minced
1/4 cup tahini paste
zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2-3 Tbsp hot water
sea salt
- Make the rice as per package directions.
- Whisk or process together the garlic, tahini, lemon zest and juice, and olive oil. Add hot water to achieve a thin consistency. Set aside.
- Heat cooking oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chickpeas and salt and saute for a few minutes, until crusty. Add the garlic and onions and stir for a minute. Stir in the asparagus with some more salt, cover and simmer for 2 minutes or until the asparagus is bright green and a little bit soft. Stir in the rice and almond slivers, keeping a few almonds aside to use as a garnish. Add salt to taste, and serve family-style in a big bowl drizzled with a few tablespoons of the tahini dressing (and olive oil!)
- We had it warm as a main course, but this could easily be cooled and served as a salad.
Adapted from 101 Cookbooks
2 thoughts on “asparagus chickpea salad with tahini”