Herbed Raw Asparagus and Artichoke Rice Pilaf

For a long time now, I’ve been wanting to do some experimentation with asparagus. Recipes using raw asparagus just aren’t seen very often and I guess I wanted to know:”Why not?” I’ve often eaten the tips off my aparagus raw and always thought they tasted good so there had to be some reason why we don’t see them all over the place in the raw world. If cauliflower can make the cut, why not those poor, ultra nutritious raw asparagus? Inquiring minds want to know.

Well, to be sure, I looked it up and raw asparagus are perfectly fine to eat. I knew it! The only thing they have against them are the woody bottoms of the stems that you have to cut off even if you cook them. A lot of places say to shave the stems into green strips to eat them. I’ve no doubt this would solve every problem but it would also take a whole afternoon and I wasn’t in the mood today for getting hand cramps from a day with my potato peeler so I pursued a saner route.

The Raw Asparagus Experiment

Because they are rich in polyphenols, asparagus are loaded with powerful antioxidants. As it happens, however, these antioxidants are boosted by 16 % when cooked. On the other hand, some of it’s inherent nutrients are stronger in raw asparagus; vitamin C is reduced by more than half in the cooked version! My idea was to use the dehydrator. Maybe that little temperature boost would bring out more antioxidant capacity but, keeping below the enzyme destroying temperature, would also seal in all that amazing vitamin C. So I chopped those offensive woody ends off the stalks of my asparagus, cut them into bite-sized pieces, tossed them in a little extra virgin olive oil and peppered them profusely.

Add an Artichoke…

While I was doing that, I couldn’t help but notice this lone artichoke sitting on the counter, looking forlorn. Since I was experimenting anyway, I thought, why not throw that in too! Well – not the whole artichoke – but the heart for sure. Heres another thing you never see in raw dishes. Now the artichoke deal is something that makes a bit more sense to me because those things are spiny! It’s like a vegetable hedgehog! But if you cut an artichoke into quarters lengthwise, it’s easy to slice out the heart and cut it into thin strips. I’d heard you could eat the leaves raw too; in the exact same way you would if it was cooked. You just grab a leaf and scrape the bottom part off with your teeth. Well, I was feeling adventurous so I did this too.

Unfortunately, although you may technically be able to eat artichoke leaves, it’s not exactly a pleasurable experience. Kind of hard, chalky and bitter. As my father would have said, “I could do without it.” When I was a kid, my best friend dared me to eat dried cat food once; I did and it was better than artichoke leaves.

It should have given me a clue when I was cutting the artichoke into quarters. My knife was sharp but it took me a few tries to get through that thing. I had a flashback to the commericals about Ginzu knives when they told you that those knives could cut through a log. That’s obviously the singular quality needed when cutting through an artichoke.

Mix it Up…

I mixed the sliced artichoke heart with the asparagus and tossed it all together to get some of that oil and pepper on everything and then popped them in the dehydrator for two hours. Yep. That’s all it took for those asparagus to taste steamed and the artichoke to taste like actual food and not some weird petrified root you’d dig up in your garden. Honestly those asparagus were a feast straight out of the dehydrator! Next time I’ll put some mushrooms and a little garlic in there too, mix, them all up and eat them just like that.

My head is now literally spinning with all the things I want to do with raw asparagus!

Be prepared: this raw vegan rice pilaf only the beginning!

RAW VEGAN RECIPE: Herbed Asparagus and Artichoke ‘Rice’ Pilaf

1 lb asparagus, woody ends removed and cut into 2 inch pieces

1 large artichoke, quartered, heart removed and sliced into thin matchsticks

1/8 – 1/4 cup olive oil

3 generous pinches of salt

1 1/2 Tablespoons ground pepper

3/4 cup finely chopped red onion

1 medium jicama, peeled, chopped and ‘riced’ in food processor

1 red bell pepper, diced small

3 Tablespoons chopped fresh dill

2 Tablespoons chopped chives

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

6 Tablespoons raw cashews

2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon paprika

Combine asparagus, artichoke, olive oil, salt and pepper in a bowl and toss well to coat. Spread artichoke/ asparagus mixture on teflex lined dehydrator sheet and dehydrate for 2-3 hours at 115 degrees Fahrenheit.

Combine riced jicama, red pepper and onion in a large bowl. Throw in the asparagus and artichoke when they’re ready.

In a food processor, grind cashews, nutritional yeast, garlic powder and paprika until very fine. Mix well with the ingredients in the bowl. Sprinkle with the dill, chives and parsley and mix again to incorporate. SERVES 4.