After coming to Melbourne, my culinary world has opened up to so many new ingredients – some of which I did not even know existed in this world. And one among those is the purple asparagus! I have had green asparagus before and have always enjoyed the crunchy texture of these stalks. So when I came across these purple ones at the local farmer’s market, I knew I had to try and make something interesting with it.
I have always had asparagus as an accompaniment, roasted or blanched, with meats. I went ahead and did a rice dish, chopping these beautiful asparagus along with some brown mushrooms and seasoned with hot Cajun seasoning. The result – a pilaf, pulao or fried rice; name it what you want.
This one is a simple and easy to make rice dish, perfect for weekday dinners. Add a cucumber raita/yoghurt dip and you are good to go!
Now, let’s get cooking….
Cajun Rice with Asparagus and Mushrooms
Ingredients
- Long-grained rice – 2 cups soaked and drained
- White onion – 1 large chopped
- Purple asparagus remove the bottom ends – 4 stalks, chopped
- Brown mushrooms – 4 large chopped
- Garlic – 2 cloves chopped finely
- Coriander leaves – ½ cup finely chopped
- Cajun seasoning – 2 tsp add more to suit your taste preferences
- Salt – to season
- Black pepper – to season
- Vegetable oil – 3 tbsp
Instructions
- Cook the rice in salted boiling water, drain well and keep aside.
- Heat oil in a pan, add garlic and onions; sauté for a minute.
- Then add the mushrooms and asparagus and sauté for another 2 minutes on high heat.
- Lower heat and season with Cajun seasoning, salt and pepper. Remember that the rice has been cooked in salted water so add salt accordingly.
- Add coriander leaves and stir well.
- Add the rice and mix well to combine.
- Serve with chilled cucumber raita/yoghurt dip.
Wow, this had to written with my fridge in mind. I have a whole heap of cooked brown rice in the fridge after a mishap with not turning the rice cooker on and I bought my first ever bunch of purple asparagus yesterday – I guess I know what I’m making today!
lovely Danielle; glad to be of help. Do let me know how it turned out.
Yum! How gorgeous are those purple asparagus! Thanks for joining the linkup again!
u are welcome dear
I have to admit, I have never seen purple asparagus. What a beautiful dish!
yup, it was a surprise for me too. And wanted to make a different dish with it other than steaming, grilling or blanching