Asparagus, pea and mint rice salad

Whip up this delicious vegetarian rice dish in just half an hour

By The Good Housekeeping Cookery TeamUpdated: 14 April 2023

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When the sun is shining, the last thing we want to be doing is spending hours in the kitchen; thankfully, this vibrant summer salad recipe takes just 30 minutes to prepare. Packed with vibrant asparagus, peas and fresh mint, it's perfect for pairing with barbecued spreads, grilled prawns or simply serving as is.

Find more of our most popular asparagus recipes here, including this crowd-pleasing spring pie and speedy asparagus orzotto with watercress pesto.

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Yields:

Prep Time:

10 mins

Cook Time:

20 mins

Total Time:

30 mins

Cal/Serv:

150

Ingredients

275 g
basmati and wild rice
2
shallots, finely sliced
zest and juice of 1 lemon
4 Tbsp.
sunflower oil
20 g
pack fresh mint, roughly chopped, plus extra sprigs to garnish
250 g
packs asparagus tips
125 g
fresh or frozen peas

Directions

1. Step 1
  Measure the rice and tip into a pan. Measure twice the volume of water and add to the rice with a pinch of salt. Cover and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cook according to packet instructions. Once cooked, tip the rice on to a baking sheet and spread out to cool quickly. When cool, spoon into a large bowl.
2. Step 2
  In a small bowl, mix together the shallots, lemon zest and juice, oil and mint, then stir into the rice.
3. Step 3
  Bring a large pan of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the asparagus and peas, and cook for 3-4min until tender. Drain and refresh in a bowl of cold water. Drain the vegetables again and stir into the rice. Put into a serving dish and garnish with mint. To serve: complete recipe an hour before serving.

Get ahead

Make recipe up to end of step 2 up to two days ahead, cover and chill. Blanch and refresh veg as in step 3 up to two days ahead. Store in the fridge in an airtight container, covered in damp kitchen paper.

Per serving:

Calories: 150
Total carbs: 23 g
Total fat: 5 g

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The Good Housekeeping Cookery Team

An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).

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