Shortcut rice products have come a long way since Uncle Ben’s Minute Rice first appeared on grocery shelves. Where we once only had white rice that quickly turned chewy and soft in the microwave, we now have dozens of choices — white and brown rice in multiple varieties, as well as mixed-grain pouches that offer serious time savings on weeknight recipes. I use these products in many 5:30 Challenge recipes, and I find that they’re at their best when I ignore the directions on the pouch.
For this warm grain salad, I heat up a few pouches of grains in a hot skillet in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. The grains quickly warm through and the additional flavorful oil boosts their nuttiness and covers up any plasticky taste leftover from the packaging. This time of year, I add in crisp-tender asparagus, which I cook in the same skillet as the grains, as well as 7-minute jammy boiled eggs for protein and a mustardy vinaigrette to bring the salad together.
If you heat the water and boil the eggs while you prepare the remaining salad components, you should be able to finish the dish in less than 20 minutes — an impossible task when cooking whole grains from scratch.
Warm Grain Salad with Asparagus and Jammy Eggs
4 large eggs
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and sliced into 1-inch pieces on the diagonal
1 tablespoon water
Salt, divided
3 (8.5-ounce) 90-second microwave mixed whole-grain rice pouches
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Zest and juice of 1 large lemon
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and fill a medium bowl with ice water. Add the eggs to the boiling water and cook for 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, immediately transfer eggs to the ice bath and let sit until cool.
While the water is heating and eggs are cooking, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the asparagus, 1 tablespoon water and a big pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the water has evaporated and the asparagus is crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
Use your hands to break up the grains in the packages. When the asparagus is ready, reduce the heat to low, add the grains and stir to break up any additional pieces. Continue to cook until warmed through, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
In a large bowl, whisk together the Dijon mustard, lemon zest, lemon juice and remaining oil until smooth. Add the entire contents of the skillet to the vinaigrette and stir to combine.
Peel the eggs and slice in half. Divide the salad between four serving bowls and top each portion with two egg halves. Sprinkle a bit of salt on each egg. Serve warm.
Serves 4.
Per serving: 590 calories (percent of calories from fat, 46), 15 grams protein, 66 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams total sugars, 7 grams fiber, 30 grams total fat (5 grams saturated), 186 milligrams cholesterol, 654 milligrams sodium.
For nutritional calculations, the salt included is defined as 1/4 teaspoon.
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