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O boy! Do I have the easiest most amazing saffron rice salad for you for dinner tonight!
I’m not going to lie… I made this vegan salad the other night as a way to use up what I had in my fridge and it turned out to be a gluten- and dairy-free masterpiece. My family loved it, but that doesn’t come as too much of a surprise. They’d eat a sock if it was covered in hummus.
Simple rice is tossed with creamy hummus then jazzed up with pecans, dried cherries, asparagus, saffron, scallions, cilantro and pretty lettuce leaves. If you can believe it, this recipe can be whipped up in less than 5 minutes is you make the rice ahead of time (say, the night before).
Easy, right? Told ya it was simple.
It’s great for a weeknight dinner and leftovers taste twice as good the next day.
O ya and toss in a bit of fresh lemon zest while you’re at it.
When in doubt, add lemon zest, sea salt and crushed red pepper flakes.
That, folks, is the secret to my easy ‘clean’ cooking.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup uncooked rice
- 1/2 tsp. saffron threads
- 4 Tbsp. Sabra Traditional Hummus
- 1 bundle fresh asparagus cut into 1/2 inch pieces and ends removed
- 2 scallions thinly sliced
- 2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/4 tsp. sea salt
- 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 1/6 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup dried cherries
- 1/3 cup pecans
- 3 cups mixed salad greens
Instructions
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Cook rice according to package directions. Add in saffron threads 5 minutes into cooking.
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Remove from heat, add in asparagus pieces and mix well to combine. Cover and set aside for 10-15 minutes.
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In a large bowl, combine rice mixture with humus. Add scallions, cilantro, sea salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, dried cherries and pecans; gently toss to combine.
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Serve rice mixture amongst six plates atop a bed of fresh salad greens.
I love how this recipe can be prepared ahead of time to make for a super simple quick lunch the next day!
Super simple and easy dinners like this are the best! Lemon zest is one of my favorite ingredients. I bet it gives great pop of flavor to this salad.
This salad looks so delish!!! And loooove Organic Girl romaine lettuce leaves…they are lifesavers! 🙂
I love this! I have salad for dinner every night and I’m always looking for ways to spice it up. Always looking to make veggies more tastier and exciting so that my non-vegetarian husband and I can still enjoy delicious and nutritious meals together.
I will definitely be adding this to my dinner menu for next week!
Thanks for the new recipe! It looks so yummy and healthy! 🙂
Looks delicious!
This salad looks delish!!!!!
Love a good salad! especially with a salty/sweet combo…
I mix quinoa with hummus as my salad dressing all the time!! So good!! I would love love love to win your giveaway – I eat veggies for breakfast, lunch and dinner : )
I just picked up some organic girl salad for dinner – would love to win the giveaway! This salad looks amazing, now that it’s getting hot here in Charleston, I eat salads for my main dish several times a week, thanks for the great recipe can’t wait to try it!
I love organic girl greens and would love a chance to win the giveaway! Great idea to mix hummus into the rice. Sounds delicious, I think I might try this one tonight 🙂
That salad looks like it’s to die for! YUM!
I am loving a whole new level of salads lately! The “stranger” the ingredients the more I like them. Lots of flavor and very filling. I use organic girl lettuce when I can find it and have even started using it into smoothies.
Love the looks of this salad; you could use so many flavorful and delicious rice varieties in this, too. Never thought about using Hummus in that way, though. Sounds wonderful.
I buy Organicgirl spinach for my green smoothie!
Haha I think I would eat a sock too, if it were covered in hummus! 🙂
I love hummus too! Anything with pecans is a win to me 😉 Looks and sounds delicious!
Yum! No boring salad here! 😉
Thank you so much for your posts!! So many healthy recipes from which to choose. After struggling since high school with weight issues and yoyo’ing back and forth between “x” fad diet and “y” fad diet I decided I was finished letting myself down. Just over a year ago I took charge and made a lifestyle change. I focused in and made time for exercise and really began to pay attention to what I was putting into my body. I started shopping organic as much as possible and took it a step further to try to purchase local as much as I could. I’ve lost weight, feel the best I ever have and I’m truly happy. It’s incredible what healthy eating can do–I never realized until I made a commitment to myself to do better. Thank you for helping in that journey with fresh, healthy, inspiring recipes!
Congrats Danni! YOU are my winner for the Organic Greens Giveaway. Please email TheHealthyApple@gmail.com with your address and phone number. Thank you!!! xoox