Zingy citrus warm rice and bean salad

Bit of a move to the healthy side with this dish after my recent chocolate creations! I wanted something that could be prepped and frozen for work lunches for both me and Chris rather than just relying on reheated leftovers, or "warmups" as Chris calls them

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Not that there is anything wrong with warm ups, it's just nice to have something different and immediately to hand. This salad is better warm, so I tubbed it up in microwaveable tubs, but works well cold too. It's tasty, easy to make and inexpensive. The veg can be subbed for whatever you fancy - the asparagus was on offer in aldi, hence the indulgence, but you could use tenderstem broccoli, green beans or mange tout for a bit of greenery! Sweetcorn would work well too.

White rice would work too, but given the extra protein and other health benefits of brown rice we decided to attempt to be good....

Ingredients

150g uncooked brown basmati rice

1 small red onion, finely chopped

1 fat garlic clove, peeled and crushed

1 medium spiced chilli, finely chopped

1/2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 red pepper, chopped small

75g mushrooms, chopped small

50g fine asparagus, cut into 3cm pieces

50g frozen peas, defrosted

400g tin mixed beans, drained and rinsed

Zest and juice of half a lemon

Freshly ground salt and black pepper to taste

Method

Cook the rice as per the instructions on the packet, drain, rinse and put to one side

Heat the oil into a large frying pan and add the onion, chilli and garlic and cook on medium for a couple of minutes, just until the onion starts to soften. Add the pepper, mushroom, peas and asparagus and continue to cook for a further 4 minutes. The vegetables should just be starting to soften but not be squidgey

Stir in the lemon juice and zest, rice, and the beans and seasoning. Mix well and either eat whilst hot, chill and eat cold, or tub up for lunches ahead for the freezer

Debbie