Irish Cooking can also be found at The Petit Chef.
This is my daughter Erin's favorite salad. I actually cannot remember where I found this recipe for it was so many years ago. It may have been on a Saturday afternoon PBS cooking show in the 90s. I serve it every Easter and often in the spring as asparagus is so fresh then. I always associate asparagus with spring even though now we can get most produce all year round. The asparagus in the spring is pencil-thin so not tough and very flavorful. Doubled this makes a nice summer entrée on a warm evening perhaps with a cup of cold soup.
Asparagus Salad [Makes six small or three entrée portions]
Ingredients:
24 pencil-thin stalks of asparagus, steamed until just firm
12 pieces of crisp bacon, crumbled into large pieces
1 large jar of red peppers, cut into slices
4 oz. block of romano cheese, shaved
1 cup of pine nuts, roasted and salted
6 jumbo pitted ripe olives, sliced
Vinaigrette or olive oil and lemon juice for dressing
Salt and pepper to taste
My daughter Erin Megan, age 3
Directions:
I use a stainless asparagus steamer, but a coffee pot with the insides removed works great. You want something tall and narrow so the asparagus stands and just steams. Rinse the asparagus well and remove the tough ends. My mother taught me a trick when I was little to accomplish this efficiently. Take each stalk and snap where it breaks easily. This finds the exact spot where the tender and tough spots meet so you do not waste any and do not suffer any tough portion. I save the ends for soups in the Vitamix®. Put about 2 inches of water and one teaspoon of salt into the steamer. Place the
asparagus--stalks up--into the container. Bring to a boil and gently steam until the tops are tender five to seven minutes depending on the thinness of the asparagus. It is so easy to overcook asparagus. You want the stalks to be just tender, but still firm. Mushy asparagus gets stringy and is very difficult to cut and loses its appeal and taste. If you do not have a tall container, you can steam by inserting a steam basket inside a pan of boiling water. Using either method, immediately remove and place in an ice bath--a pan filled with cold water and ice. This will stop the cooking process and keep the asparagus a beautiful green color. To roast the pine nuts place them in a nonstick pan, salt them, and let them cook until a light nutty fragrance is apparent. I watch them closely to avoid burning and shake the pan occasionally.
Assembly:
This is my daughter Erin's favorite salad. I actually cannot remember where I found this recipe for it was so many years ago. It may have been on a Saturday afternoon PBS cooking show in the 90s. I serve it every Easter and often in the spring as asparagus is so fresh then. I always associate asparagus with spring even though now we can get most produce all year round. The asparagus in the spring is pencil-thin so not tough and very flavorful. Doubled this makes a nice summer entrée on a warm evening perhaps with a cup of cold soup.
Asparagus Salad [Makes six small or three entrée portions]
Ingredients:
24 pencil-thin stalks of asparagus, steamed until just firm
12 pieces of crisp bacon, crumbled into large pieces
1 large jar of red peppers, cut into slices
4 oz. block of romano cheese, shaved
1 cup of pine nuts, roasted and salted
6 jumbo pitted ripe olives, sliced
Vinaigrette or olive oil and lemon juice for dressing
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
I use a stainless asparagus steamer, but a coffee pot with the insides removed works great. You want something tall and narrow so the asparagus stands and just steams. Rinse the asparagus well and remove the tough ends. My mother taught me a trick when I was little to accomplish this efficiently. Take each stalk and snap where it breaks easily. This finds the exact spot where the tender and tough spots meet so you do not waste any and do not suffer any tough portion. I save the ends for soups in the Vitamix®. Put about 2 inches of water and one teaspoon of salt into the steamer. Place the
asparagus--stalks up--into the container. Bring to a boil and gently steam until the tops are tender five to seven minutes depending on the thinness of the asparagus. It is so easy to overcook asparagus. You want the stalks to be just tender, but still firm. Mushy asparagus gets stringy and is very difficult to cut and loses its appeal and taste. If you do not have a tall container, you can steam by inserting a steam basket inside a pan of boiling water. Using either method, immediately remove and place in an ice bath--a pan filled with cold water and ice. This will stop the cooking process and keep the asparagus a beautiful green color. To roast the pine nuts place them in a nonstick pan, salt them, and let them cook until a light nutty fragrance is apparent. I watch them closely to avoid burning and shake the pan occasionally.
Assembly:
Plate each salad in this order. I find this salad is most attractive when placed on a plain white dish. Arrange four stalks of asparagus placed together on an angle in the center of the plate. The remaining ingredients will be divided evenly amongst the 6 salads. Place the sliced red pepper arranged artistically over the vegetable, followed by the crumbled bacon. Next the sliced ripe olives, shaved romano, and roasted pine nuts. Salt and pepper to taste. This salad is not only delicious but artistic. Let your creative juices flow. I use Monini Lemon Flavored Extra Virgin Olive Oil® and fresh lemon. Just drizzle the olive oil and lemon over the salad with a light touch. You do not need very much. I can no longer get Monini® flavored olive oils in the local stores so for a few years now I have been purchasing a case at a time online. I love it on salads with fresh lemon--simple, healthy, and flavorful. I find it enhances rather than hides the flavors of the salad ingredients. You can also use your favorite vinaigrette recipe keeping in mind this salad needs an extremely light dressing to showcase the varied ingredients. Enjoy.
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