Warm Asparagus Honey Gingered Salad

I wanted to make a salad with asparagus and dwarf green beans, but they are rather too crunchy fresh for me. This is my solution:

• Ready In: 25 mins
• Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• Dressing

• 2  tablespoons  balsamic vinegar
• 4  tablespoons basil olive oil
• 3⁄4 inch fresh ginger, in width (2 cms)
• 1  tablespoon honey, runny
• 1  tablespoon basil leaves, chopped

• Main Ingredients

• 1⁄2 cup  raw white rice, cooked
• 95  g green beans, about a handful (dwarf, 3 1/2 oz)
• 6  miniature corn cobs (about, depends on size)
• 1⁄2  a green pepper
• 5 -6  asparagus spears

Directions

1. Method:
2. Peel and slice and dice and crush the ginger – I crush it on a chopping board with a little salt and a broad-bladed knife.
3. Place in a bowl with the basil olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey and the chopped basil leaves. Mix and set aside.
4. Chop the green beans into ¾ inch pieces (– about 2 cms).
5. Slice the green pepper into thin–ish slices (but not as thin as julienne) then chop into pea-sized chunks.
6. Remove any woody bits from the asparagus – it should cut with hardly any effort – if you have to saw at it – it's too tough there, move the knife closer to the tip. Try to snap the end off, if it snaps naturally, go from there. If it just bends, move nearer to the tip until it does snap off).
7. Then chop the asparagus into pea-sized bits.
8. Slice the baby corn cobs fairly thinly – again about the width of a pea.
9. Add the sliced corn cobs and the green pepper together with the cooked white rice.
10. Just before you want to serve, stir fry the green beans in a little basil olive oil for about 2 minutes; add the asparagus and cook for a further 2 minutes. You want both still just crunchy and I find that the green beans take longer than asparagus does.
11. Take off the heat and add the dressing to the pan – stir, then add this to the rice, corn and peppers, add salt and ground black or rainbow peppercorns to taste – yum! Serve immediately.
12. Serve this with other salad items, or as a side dish with other things. We just had it with my Sugar Snap Pea & 2 Rice Salad, egg mayonnaise, cottage cheese, lettuce, radishes etc etc -- .