Asparagus and brown rice salad with almond, ginger and tamari dressing

Ingredients

• 120g brown rice
• 2 asparagus spears
• ½ courgette, grated or thinly sliced
• 100g white cabbage, thinly sliced
• 3 cos lettuce leaves, chopped
• 50g almonds, roughly chopped
• 100g pomegranate seeds or half a pomegranate
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 slice dark rye bread, chopped into 1cm pieces
• Pinch malden salt
• Pinch cracked black pepper
• 1 tbsp black and white sesame seeds

For the dressing

• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp tamari
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• 50g blanched almonds
• Juice and zest 1 lime
• Pinch cracked black pepper

Method

1. Rinse the brown rice in a sieve until the water runs clear. Place the rice in a pan with three times the amount of water and bring to the boil, then simmer for 15-20 minutes until the rice is cooked. Rinse under cold water and set aside.
2. Meanwhile prepare your vegetables. Remove the woody ends of the asparagus, usually about an inch from the bottom and discard them. Then chop the asparagus into 1 cm pieces and add them to a large mixing bowl along with the other raw chopped veg and almonds.
3. To remove your pomegranate seeds from the skin, slice the pomegranate in half and place seed side down in the palm of your hand. Place a bowl in the sink and hold the pomegranate over the bowl. Using a spoon bash the skin until all the seeds have fallen out. Discard the skin and add the seeds to the bowl.
4. Heat a little oil in a small frying pan and add the chopped rye bread tossing occasionally until dark golden on all sides. Then add these to the bowl along with the salt and pepper and toss everything together.
5. To make the dressing place all the ingredients into a food processor or nutribullet and blitz until smooth.
6. Tip the salad onto a large serving platter and pour over the dressing and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.