Asparagus Ham Salad Recipes

SPRING ASPARAGUS, HAM AND POTATO SALAD - HONEY MUSTARD DRESSING

Steps:

• Make up the dressing by putting all the dressing ingredients into a jar and shaking it well. The dressing can be made up well in advance.
• Choose two attractive plates or bowls and start to assemble the salad.
• Place the potatoes on the plate/bowl first and then arrange the strips of ham & asparagus spears over the top - gently mix through to "just" mingle the ingredients together.
• Next, scatter the minced/finely diced red onion over and then the sliced cornichons - if you are using them.
• Pour over the honey & mustard dressing - giving the salad a liberal dousing!
• Season and scatter the chopped chives and/or the chopped chervil over the top.
• Serve with crusty bread & a glass of crisp, chilled white Chablis or Chardonnay!
• Optional ideas:.
• You could also add peas, broad beans, olives or crispy bacon!

ASPARAGUS AND SERRANO HAM SALAD WITH TOASTED ALMONDS

Steps:

• Have ready a large bowl of ice and cold water. Cook asparagus in boiling salted water until crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain spears, then refresh in ice water. Drain asparagus again and pat dry.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a small skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then cook almonds, bread crumbs, and cumin, stirring frequently, until toasted, 3 to 4 minutes. Cool. Add remaining oil to vinegar in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper.
• Toss escarole with half of dressing and mound on plates. Arrange ham around escarole and top salad with asparagus. Drizzle asparagus with remaining dressing. Sprinkle salad with almond-and-crumb mixture.

HAM STEAKS WITH ASPARAGUS-RICE SALAD

Steps:

• Mix the mayonnaise, sour cream, chives and mustard in a bowl.
• Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Add the rice, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper; reduce the heat to low and simmer until almost tender, about 15 minutes. Add the asparagus and simmer until the rice and asparagus are tender, about 3 more minutes. Drain in a fine-mesh sieve and rinse under cold water, stirring gently to remove excess water. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the lemon juice and half of the prepared chive sauce; season with salt and pepper.
• Heat the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ham steaks, overlapping as necessary, and cook, flipping occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the ham and cook, flipping often, until the sugar melts. Season with pepper. Serve with the rice salad, the remaining chive sauce and lemon wedges.

DEEP-DISH HAM QUICHE WITH HERB AND ASPARAGUS SALAD

Steps:

• Make the crust: Combine the flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Add the butter; mix with a pastry blender or your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat the egg yolk and 3 tablespoons ice water in a small bowl; work into the dough until the dough holds together without being wet or sticky. Squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Form into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
• Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 14-inch round. Carefully roll up the dough onto the rolling pin (this may take a little practice) and lay it inside a 9-inch springform pan. Press the dough firmly into the bottom and side; trim the excess. Put the pan on a sturdy baking sheet and refrigerate until ready to fill.
• Prepare the filling: Put a skillet over medium-low heat and coat with the olive oil. Add the onions and slowly cook, stirring occasionally, until they caramelize, 40 to 45 minutes. (Add a couple of tablespoons of water to help the onions break down, if needed.) Toss in the ham and cook, stirring, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Whisk the eggs in a large bowl until frothy. Whisk in the cream; season with salt and pepper. Arrange the onions and ham in the crust and carefully pour in the egg-cream mixture; the filling should be about 1/2 inch from the top. Cover loosely with foil and bake 1 hour, 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until the quiche is set but jiggles slightly, about 30 more minutes. Remove to a rack and let cool 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the salad: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; blanch the asparagus until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking, then drain. Slice into small pieces and put in a bowl; add the parmesan and herbs. Add the olive oil and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Toss gently to combine.
• Loosen the quiche from the pan with a thin metal spatula, then remove the ring. Transfer the quiche to a plate and cut into wedges. Drizzle with olive oil and season with pepper. Top with the salad.

CRISPY PARMA HAM AND ASPARAGUS SALAD

Steps:

• Cook the eggs in a pan of boiling water for exactly 8 minutes. Sit a steamer or colander over the eggs, put in the asparagus, cover and cook for 4-5 minutes until just tender - alternatively, cook in a pan of water for 2-3 minutes.
• Drain the eggs and asparagus and cool under cold water.
• Melt the butter in a small pan than, with a wire whisk, beat in some lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.
• Heat a ridged griddle pan. Cook the slices of parma ham, two at a time in the hot pan for 30 seconds on each side. Set aside on kitchen paper. Cook the asparagus in the hot pan for 2-3 minutes to give light bar marks.
• Shell and halve the eggs and arrange on four plates with the asparagus, topped with the crispy parma ham. Drizzle over the lemon butter dressing. Scatter over some shaved parmesan and top with a good grind of black pepper. A glass or two of chilled white wine is the perfect accompaniment to this dish.

DEEP-DISH HAM QUICHE WITH HERB AND ASPARAGUS SALAD

Steps:

• To make the pastry: combine the flour, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and mix with a pastry blender or your hands until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat the egg yolk and ice water in a small bowl to blend, add it to the pastry. Work it in to bind the dough until it holds together without being too wet or sticky. Squeeze a small amount together, if it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Form the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Sprinkle the counter and a rolling pin lightly with flour. Roll the dough out into a 14-inch circle about 1/4-inch thick. Carefully roll the dough up onto the pin (this may take a little practice) and lay it inside a 9-inch springform pan. Press the dough firmly into the bottom and sides so it fits tightly; trim the excess dough around the rim. Place the pan on a sturdy cookie sheet so it will be easier to move in and out of the oven, this quiche is pretty heavy.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• To make the filling: Heat a skillet over medium-low heat, coat the pan with oil, and add the onions. Slowly cook the onions, stirring, until they caramelize and release their natural sugars. Add a couple of tablespoons of water to help the onions break down, if needed. Toss in the ham, cook, stirring, for about 10 minutes to get some color on it. Remove from heat. In a large bowl, beat the eggs until frothy, pour in the cream; season with salt and pepper. Arrange the caramelized onions and ham over the bottom of the crust and carefully pour in the cream and egg mixture; the filling should be about 1-inch from the top of the pan. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake for 15 minutes or until the quiche is set, puffy, and jiggles slightly. Remove to a wire rack and let cool for 30 minutes. In the meantime make the asparagus salad.
• To make the asparagus salad: In a large pot of boiling salted water, blanch the asparagus for 4 minutes, or until they are just crisp-tender. Drain the asparagus, transfer to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking, and drain well. Slice the asparagus into 1/2-inch pieces and put them in a mixing bowl. Add the Parmesan and herbs, drizzle the herb and asparagus salad with olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice, season with salt and pepper. Toss gently to combine.
• Loosen the quiche from the sides of the pan by running a thin metal spatula around the inside rim. Carefully unmold the ring, and transfer the quiche (with the bottom base) to a serving plate. Cut it into wedges, drizzle with a little olive oil, and a few turns of freshly ground black pepper. Garnish with the asparagus salad on top.

EASY HAM AND ASPARAGUS ROLL-UPS

Steps:

• 1. Wash and trim asparagus spears - save bottoms for another use if not too woody. Blanch briefly 2 min in boiling salted water and remove stalks to bowl of ice water to stop cooking process and retain crispness/color.
• 2. Cream together cheese, horseradish, sugar, and spices to your personal taste. (Some like it lighter/sweeter and others like the full-on horseradish flavor!) Blend thoroughly with mixer until creamy.
• 3. Drain and dry asparagus spears. Spread cream cheese mixture onto prosciutto slices in moderate layer, then place 2 asparagus spears across the width of ham slice. Roll up asparagus in cream cheese mixture to end of ham strip. Keep refrigerated until served. If you are finicky about uniform appearances, you can slice off the bottom of each with a sharp knife after refrigerating a while for exactly flat and matching edges (cook gets to eat the scraps!). These are colorful, quick and easy, and very unusual snacks to serve as many people have never tasted them before. The sweet, salty, and spicy elements blend together with the savory asparagus to make an explosion of mouth feel and flavor! Always a hit at our house, or when we take them to parties.

ASPARAGUS AND HAM STRATA

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk the first six ingredients until blended. Stir in bread, 1 cup cheese, ham and asparagus. Transfer to a greased 8-in. square baking dish. Refrigerate, covered, several hours or overnight. , Preheat oven to 325°. Remove strata from refrigerator while oven heats. Bake, uncovered, 20 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese; bake 40-50 minutes longer or until puffed, golden and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving.Freeze option: After assembling, cover and freeze strata. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 325°. Bake strata as directed, increasing time as necessary for a knife inserted in the center to come out clean.

ASPARAGUS, HAM, AND POACHED EGG SALAD

Steps:

• Prepare a large bowl of ice water.
• Fill the pasta pot with 3 quarts of water and bring it to a rolling boil over high heat. Add the coarse salt and the asparagus. Blanch, uncovered, until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. (Cooking time will vary according to the size and tenderness of the asparagus.) Immediately remove the colander from the water, letting the water drain from the asparagus. Plunge the asparagus into the ice water so they cool down as quickly as possible and retain their crispness and bright green color. (The asparagus will cool in 1 to 2 minutes. After that, they will soften and begin to lose crispness and flavor.) Drain the asparagus and wrap it in a thick kitchen towel to dry. (Do not cook the asparagus in advance or it will lose its crispness.)
• Break each egg into a ramekin or small cup. Set aside. In a large, shallow saucepan, bring 2 inches of water to a boil. Add the vinegar. One by one, bring the edge of a ramekin or cup level with the surface of the water and slide the egg in gently. Turn off the heat and cover the pan. Poach the eggs until the whites are firm but the yolks are still runny and are covered with a thin, translucent layer of white, about 3 minutes.
• With the sieve or slotted spoon, carefully lift the eggs from the water and transfer them to several thicknesses of paper towels.
• Place the salad greens and chives in a large salad bowl. Toss with just enough dressing to coat the greens lightly and evenly.
• Place the asparagus on a large plate and add just enough dressing to lightly coat the spears. Roll the asparagus in the dressing.
• Arrange the dressed greens at one side of each of 4 large dinner plates. (Rectangular plates are particularly beautiful here.) Carefully place a poached egg alongside. Arrange 4 asparagus spears next to the eggs. Carefully drape a slice of ham over each of the poached eggs. Season the greens lightly with fine sea salt and generously with pepper. Sprinkle with chives. Serve with the toast.

ASPARAGUS HAM DINNER

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large cast-iron or other heavy skillet, saute asparagus and yellow pepper in oil until crisp-tender. Add tomatoes and ham; heat through. Drain pasta; add to mixture. Stir in parsley and seasonings. Sprinkle with cheese.