Congealed Asparagus Salad Recipes

CHILLED ASPARAGUS SALAD

Steps:

• I like asparagus al dente, slightly crunchy. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot over medium heat. Add salt until it tastes like mild seawater. How will you know? Take a little water with a spoon and taste it, then add the sugar.
• Prepare an ice bath by filling a bowl, large enough to hold the asparagus, with cold water. Add some ice cubes. Plunge the asparagus into the ice bath before cooking. This will help to bring any limp stalks back to life. Remove from the ice bath, plunge them into the boiling water and allow them to cook, 2 to 3 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove them from the water, transferring them immediately to the same ice bath. Allow them to sit in the ice bath for a few minutes, swirling them gently in the water to assure they are all cooling quickly in the cold water.
• The most important step for this dish? Drying the stalks once they are removed from the ice bath. Taking care that no water gets into the final salad is the best way to assure that the maximum flavor will be enjoyed! Transfer the asparagus to a large plate or platter lined with a kitchen towel and refrigerate.
• In a medium bowl, combine the lemon juice, white wine vinegar, honey and mustard. Stir to blend. Whisk in the olive oil in an even, steady stream. When all of the oil has been integrated, taste and adjust the seasoning, if needed.
• When ready to serve, remove the kitchen towel from the asparagus and simply toss the asparagus in the dressing to coat them completely. Arrange the stalks on plates and serve.

MARINATED ASPARAGUS SALAD

Steps:

• Place asparagus in a large skillet; add 1/2 in. of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 3-5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Rinse in cold water; drain. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours., Arrange asparagus in a shallow dish. Combine remaining ingredients; pour over asparagus. Let stand at room temperature for 1-2 hours before serving.

LEMONY SALMON AND ASPARAGUS SALAD

Steps:

• Using a sharp peeler, peel the asparagus into ribbons and add to a large bowl. Add the snow peas, mint, pistachios, feta, lemon juice and zest, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper and toss gently. Set aside.
• Heat a large nonstick pan over a medium heat. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Season the salmon fillets on both sides with the lemon pepper. Cook the salmon until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Flip the salmon and cook to desired doneness, about another 2 to 4 minutes, depending on thickness of your fillets.
• Serve family style, placing the salad on a platter with the salmon on top. Place the Fried Eggs over the salmon and garnish with balsamic glaze and mint leaves. Or serve individual portions on 4 plates.
• Heat some oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. There should be just enough oil to cover the edges of the eggs when they are cracked into the skillet.
• Once the oil is mildly hot, crack in the eggs one at a time. Cook until the eggs begin to turn white, then use a small spoon to carefully spoon the hot oil over only the whites of the eggs (avoiding the yolks). This will help the whites cook slowly so the tops will set but still look pretty. Important: Don't spoon any oil over the yolks yet! Only spoon oil over the whites for now to prevent the eggs from turning cloudy.
• After a minute or two of cooking, once the whites are set and not jiggly or loose, carefully spoon the oil over the yolks. Continue spooning the oil over the eggs until they appear to be done to your liking.
• Remove the eggs from the skillet with a slotted spatula, then drain them briefly on a paper towel before serving.

ASPARAGUS SALAD WITH SOY-MUSTARD DRESSING

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook asparagus just until bright green but tender, up to 4 or 5 minutes for thicker spears. Drain and immediately rinse with cold water (or, better still, plunge into ice water). Drain again and set aside. (You can wrap asparagus and refrigerate for up to a day at this point. Bring to room temperature before serving.)
• Whisk together mustard, egg yolks, soy sauce, lemon juice and just enough olive oil (start with a tablespoon) to make a smooth dressing. Toss with asparagus and serve.

WARM ASPARAGUS SALAD

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and fill a large bowl with ice water.
• Add the asparagus to the boiling water and cook until just tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain and transfer to the ice water. Once cooled, drain and pat dry and add to a medium bowl.
• Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat, add the walnuts and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until just golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour mixture over the asparagus and toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• To serve, transfer asparagus to a platter and scatter Parmesan on top. Drizzle with lemon juice and serve immediately.

ASPARAGUS SALAD WITH SWEET BALSAMIC VINEGAR

Steps:

• Boil vinegar in heavy small saucepan over medium heat until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Pour vinegar into large bowl. Whisk in oil, mustard, marjoram and garlic. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.
• Cook asparagus in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Drain; rinse with cold water and drain again. Add asparagus and bell pepper to dressing; toss to blend well. Sprinkle with pecans and serve.

SHAVED ASPARAGUS SALAD

Steps:

• Remove and chop the zest from the orange and add it to a large nonreactive bowl. Add the asparagus and cheese and toss together. Peel the orange and cut segments from the membrane. Add the segments to the bowl with the asparagus.
• Squeeze the juice from the orange membrane into a small bowl and add the chives and white wine vinegar. Whisk in the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Add the dressing to the asparagus and let sit until the asparagus is slightly wilted, about 5 minutes. Toss in the hazelnuts and serve.

SHAVED ASPARAGUS SALAD WITH GINGER AND SESAME

Steps:

• Make the dressing: In a small bowl, stir together rice vinegar, ginger, garlic and brown sugar. Add jalapeño and sesame oil, then season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Snap or cut off the tough bottoms of each asparagus spear. With a vegetable peeler, peel each tough-skinned spear, starting halfway down from tip and peeling toward bottom end.
• Cut the asparagus at a long diagonal into very thin slices (not paper thin - about the width of a thinly sliced onion). Place asparagus slices in a wide salad bowl. Season with salt and pepper and toss lightly. Add the ginger dressing and toss to coat well. Taste and adjust. Add scallions and lime juice and toss again.
• Garnish with mint leaves and cilantro sprigs. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

CHOPPED ASPARAGUS SALAD

Steps:

• Over moderately high heat, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the asparagus and cook until tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the asparagus to a bowl of ice water. Drain, pat dry and chop into 1/2-inch pieces.
• In a medium bowl, toss together the asparagus, shallots and vinegar. Drizzle the oil on top of the asparagus. Using a vegetable peeler, shave the Parmesan to measure 1/3 cup. Toss the cheese with the asparagus and season with salt and pepper.

LEMONY ASPARAGUS SALAD WITH SHAVED CHEESE AND NUTS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, spread pistachios in an even layer and toast for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool enough to handle, then roughly chop.
• Meanwhile, fill a large skillet with 1-inch water. Place steam basket on top, cover and bring to a simmer. Steam asparagus until just tender, about 5 minutes. Drain.
• Finely chop 3 tablespoons mixed soft herbs. In a medium bowl, combine shallot, lemon juice, a pinch of salt and the pepper, and let sit for 2 minutes. Whisk in oil, then stir in pistachios, cheese and chopped herbs.
• To serve, drizzle asparagus with oil and salt to taste. Dollop with dressing, tear remaining 1/2 cup herbs on top, and sprinkle generously with more cheese. Taste and adjust salt as needed.

BALSAMIC ASPARAGUS SALAD

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, bring 1 in. of water to a boil. Add asparagus; cover and boil for 3-4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and immediately place asparagus in ice water. Drain and pat dry. Transfer to a large bowl; add the onion, red pepper and cranberries., In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the oil, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper; shake well. Pour over asparagus mixture; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Just before serving, stir in almonds and bacon.

CONGEALED ASPARAGUS SALAD

Steps:

• Soften gelatin in cold water or 1/2 cup of the juice drained from the asparagus tips.
• Heat undiluted soup to boiling and add gelatin mixture.
• Stir to thorougly dissolve gelatin.
• Cool to room temperature.
• Mix mayonnaise and cream cheese and add to soup mixture.
• Add onion, olives, asparagus tips and toasted pecans.
• Pour into serving dish and chill until set.
• Serve on lettuce leaf.
• NOTE: Cooking time refers to chilling time.