Tired of the usual pasta salad? Why not get creative with Pesto Rice Salad, full of flavorful dried tomatoes, crunchy pine nuts and chunks of fresh mozzarella. Good warm or cold.
Steam asparagus until just tender then cut into 1 inch pieces.
Mix rice, asparagus, dried tomatoes and pesto until well combined. If needed for mixing, you can add some olive oil.
If using small mozzarella balls in oil, drain, then add to rice. Otherwise cut into bite sized pieces as needed and add to rice mixture. Add half of the pine nuts and stir everything together.
Top with remaining pine nuts for garnish.
Serve warm or cold.
Notes
Fresh mozzarella comes in many forms and you can use whatever is available. The bite sized balls marinated in oil and herbs are ideal, just drain and add (you can even use some of the marinating liquid in the salad if needed). For larger forms of fresh mozzarella, just cut into bite-sized pieces before adding.
I am not a health professional and nutrition data is calculated programatically. Accuracy may vary with product selection, calculator accuracy, etc. Consult a professional for the best information.