Asparagus Pickled Beets Blue Cheese Salad Recipes

BLUE CHEESE & ASPARAGUS SALAD

Steps:

• Fill a large bowl with ice water. Set aside.
• Bring large pot of salted water to a boil.
• Add asparagus and cook until crisp-tender.
• Drain asparagus and plunge into ice bath for 1 minute, then drain and set aside.
• Whisk together orange juice and olive oil.
• Toss asparagus, blue cheese and oranges together and drizzle over dressing.
• Toss gently and sprinkle with salt to taste.

ROASTED BEET SALAD WITH BLUE CHEESE AND NUTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Individually wrap 4 beets in foil. Place on a baking sheet and roast until tender when pierced with a paring knife, 45 to 60 minutes. Let cool. Rub beets with paper towels to remove skins and cut into small wedges.
• Whisk together olive oil, vinegar, and mustard; season with salt and pepper and stir in parsley. Toss beets with dressing. Serve topped with blue cheese and walnut pieces.

ROASTED BEET AND ASPARAGUS SALAD

Steps:

• The Beets: Wash and dry the beets well. Rub them with the 1 1/2 Tablespoons of olive oil. Place them in a baking pan with 1 ounce of water. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 40 minutes to 1 hour & 15 minutes or until they are fork tender. Allow the beets to cool. Peel off the outer skin and small dice. This should yield about 3 cups. Place the diced beets, blood orange oil and cilantro in a bowl and toss. Season to taste with salt and fresh ground pepper. Reserve in the refrigerator.
• The Asparagus: While the beets are roasting, blanch the asparagus in salted boiling water for about 3 minutes until it is tender and bright green.
• Shock the asparagus in ice water for about 3-5 minutes or until it is cold throughout . Dry the asparagus and chop it into a small dice. This should yield about 3 cups. Reserve in the refrigerator.
• The Dijon Vinaigrette: While the beets are roasting or a couple of days in advance, combine the egg yolk, Dijon, and vinegar in a bowl. With a wire wisk, mix the ingredients well. Slowly in a steady stream, drizzle in the oil to form and emulsion. Add the parsley, chives and shallots. Mix well and season to taste with salt and fresh ground pepper. Reserve in the refrigerator.
• The Moroccan Spice & Almonds: While the beets are roasting, or 1 day before, remove the zest from 1 orange and place in a small oven proof container in the oven to dry out, watching constantly as not to burn it.
• Once the zest is dry allow it to cool. In a coffee grinder, add the cardamom, broken cinnamon stick, allspice & cloves and grind until fine.
• Pour the spices into a small bowl. Grind the dry orange rind in the same fashion and add it to the other spices. Add the sugar and salt and mix well with a fork. Reserve in an airtight container.
• Toast the almonds in a dry saute pan over medium heat on the stove until lightly golden brown. Drizzle the 1 Tablespoon of oil on the almonds and continue to toast for another 30 seconds. Pull the almonds off the heat and pour them evenly onto a cookie sheet. Sprinkle the almonds with about 1 - 1 1/2 Tablespoons of the Moroccan spice and continue to toast in the oven for approximately 1 - 2 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Reserve.
• To Build the Dish: Remove the beets, asparagus, vinaigrette & cheese from the refrigerator 1/2 an hour before serving. Add about 2 - 3 ounces of the Dijon vinaigrette to the asparagus and toss well. Season to taste with salt & pepper. In a round mold or free style, divide the asparagus onto the center of 6 plates. Add a layer of the dressed asparagus on top of the beets. (If you are using a mold, you will need to layer the beets and then the asparagus onto one plate before removing the mold and repeating onto the second plate and so forth.) Toss the field greens in some of the blood orange oil and place some of them onto the asparagus. Place 1 piece of Maytag blue cheese on top of the greens. Sprinkle each plate with the almonds. Garnish each plate with drizzles of Dijon vinaigrette, blood orange oil and chopped chives.

ROASTED BEET SALAD WITH BLUE CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place the beets in a baking pan, drizzle with the oil, and season with salt. Cover with foil. Bake for about 1 hour, or until tender when pierced with a knife.
• In a 1-quart non-reactive saucepan, over medium-high heat, reduce the tangerine juice to about 3/4 cup. Add the lemon juice. Remove from the heat and strain with a fine sieve.
• Return to the saucepan; add lemon juice, salt and pepper. Over medium heat, reduce until the mixture bubbles and has a syrup-like consistency. You should have about 1/4 cup. Remove from the heat and strain again. Let cool to room temperature. Add the olive oil. Set aside. (Can be stored in refrigerator for up to 1 1/2 weeks.)
• When cool enough to handle, peel the beets, and thinly slice them into rounds. Arrange on a serving platter and drizzle with the dressing. In a large bowl, toss the spinach with the remaining dressing and place spinach on top of beets in the center of the platter.
• Remove the wedge of blue cheese from the freezer. Using a microplane grater, grate the desired amount over the salad. Garnish with toasted almonds.

POTATO, BLUE CHEESE & ASPARAGUS SALAD

Steps:

• Cook potatoes in water to cover until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain well. Peel if desired. Dice and place in salad bowl.
• Crumble cheese and stir in (heat of potatoes will partially melt cheese, creating sauce).
• Add asparagus, green onion, sour cream and white pepper to taste.
• Serve hot or warm (this salad doesn't taste good cold).

CHOPPED BLUE CHEESE SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Slice each pecan half into three lengthwise pieces.
• Mix together the cinnamon and brown sugar.
• Toss pecans with melted butter, then with the cinnamon/sugar mixture, tossing well to ensure a thorough coating.
• Put the nuts on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 5 to 8 minutes, until sugar is caramelized.
• Remove the baking sheet from the oven, slide the parchment together with the nuts off the sheet to cool, and set aside.
• Chop the lettuces into smallish bitesized pieces; use a salad spinner to wash and dry them.
• Slice the green onion.
• Whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients.
• Place the chopped lettuce in a large serving bowl (one large enough to toss the salad in).
• Add the vinaigrette and toss thoroughly to coat.
• Sprinkle with the chopped onion.
• Break the cooled pecan slices apart and sprinkle them over the salad.
• Serve and enjoy!
• Note: if taking this to a picnic or potluck, make sure you prepare it just before you go or the lettuces will get a bit limp after a couple of hours - it'll still tastes good, though.

BLUE CHEESE AND ASPARAGUS SALAD

Steps:

• Fill a large bowl with ice water and set aside.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the asparagus and cook until crisp-tender.
• Drain the asparagus and plunge into the ice bath for 1 minute, then drain and set aside.
• Whisk together the orange juice and olive oil.
• Toss the asparagus, blue cheese and oranges together and drizzle over the dressing.
• Toss gently and sprinkle with salt to taste.

ROASTED FRESH ASPARAGUS, BEETS, AND GOAT CHEESE MEDLEY

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425º F. Wash asparagus and cut off the tougher bottom parts of the stems. (Don't snap the ends as you lose too much of the asparagus). If sizes vary dramatically, slice the largest asparagus stems lengthwise. The asparagus can be chopped uniformly into halves or thirds or left whole.
• Wash and peel beets and slice into small cubes. Place asparagus and beets in a large bowl. Add olive oil, seasoning, and thyme and toss until completely coated.Cover baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange asparagus and beets on the sheet so they are spread out and not overlapping. Use a spatula to gather any remaining oil and seasonings to drizzle over the arranged vegetables. Bake for 15-20 minutes until beets are tender then remove them from the oven. Pile the asparagus and beets into the middle of the baking pan. Add cheese, fruit, and almonds. Bake another 10 minutes.