Loving springtime -- and this salad

No spring ingredient rings my bells more than asparagus -- OK, maybe strawberries -- and it won't be long before the local crop starts showing up in our farm markets.
Get ready to enjoy the new crop by stocking your pantry and fridge with the ingredients for this lovely, healthy and delicious salad. You can cut the recipe in half if necessary, but it also keeps well and is great as a leftover.

Recipe: Shaved Asparagus and White Bean Salad
Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

2 bunches fresh asparagus (about 1 lb each)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium red onion, thinly sliced

3 1/2 cups cooked cannellini beans or 2 15-oz BPA-free cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed well

2 tbsp fresh orange juice

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp champagne vinegar

1/2 cup chopped unsalted walnuts (2 oz), lightly toasted

1/2 cup shaved pecorino romano or parmesan cheese (2 oz)

1/4 cup slivered basil

Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1. Hold each spear of asparagus by its thick stem and lay it down on a cutting board. Using a vegetable peeler, shave asparagus into long ribbons. Place ribbons in a large bowl and discard remaining stems. (You should be left with about 1 lb shaved asparagus.) Drizzle oil over asparagus and toss to coat.
2. Add onion, beans, orange and lemon juices, and vinegar. Toss to combine.
3. Fold in walnuts, cheese and basil. Season with salt and pepper. This salad can be served immediately or prepared in advance; chill, covered, for 4 to 6 hours in refrigerator.

Source: Clean Eating magazine

Quick, before it's gone!

Asparagus season is coming to a close, and soon there will be nothing but supermarket stuff shipped in from who knows where. Last Saturday only one vendor at our main farmers' market still had the tasty, local crop. This salad with thinly sliced raw mushrooms, a handful of herbs (I used oregano and parsley) and a lemony vinaigrette was a great way to use it.

Feel free to substitute spinach or your favorite lettuce for the arugula.

Recipe: Asparagus and Mushroom Salad

(serves 4-6)

Ingredients:
1 pound asparagus
1/2 pound mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, tarragon and chives
1 cup baby arugula
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (to taste)
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 small garlic clove, minced or pureed
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 ounce slivered Parmesan

Instructions:
1. Steam the asparagus for three to five minutes, depending on how thick the stalks are. It should be tender but still have some bite. Rinse with cold water, and drain for a minute on a kitchen towel. Cut into 1-inch lengths. Place in a salad bowl, and toss with the mushrooms, herbs and arugula.
2. Whisk together the lemon juice, salt and pepper, garlic and olive oil. Toss with the asparagus mixture and the slivered Parmesan, and serve.

Source: New York Times

Fresh, seasonal ingredients + careful cooking = Great dish

Asparagus is my husband's favorite veggie, and while I like it less frequently than he does, in the springtime it's easier to work into our diet on a regular basis, because it's available from local farms and could not be fresher.
The other nice ingredient we've had on hand a lot lately is fresh fennel bulb, which we both like in many preparations (roasted, grilled, raw, etc.). He said, how about combining the two into a dish?
This is what I came up with -- the top photo is in the pan, the bottom one on the plate with shaved Parmesan. It was pretty darn delish!

Recipe: Bow-Tie Pasta with Asparagus and Fennel
(Serves 2, can be doubled)
Ingredients:
2 T olive or canola oil
1 fennel bulb, trimmed, cored and cut into small dice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1/4 cup dry white wine (optional)
12 ounces fresh asparagus, bottoms trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
1/4 cup (or more) prepared pesto, preferably homemade
Salt and black pepper, to taste
1 1/2 cups bowtie pasta, preferably whole wheat, cooked according to package directions
Shaved Parmesan cheese, to taste

Instructions:
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add diced fennel and stir-fry for 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and stir in garlic, stir-fry for another 3 minutes. Add broth and wine (if using), cover and cook for 2-3 more minutes.
Increase heat to medium-high, uncover and add asparagus. Stir-fry for 3-4 minutes, until asparagus is just tender. Be careful not to overcook. Stir in remaining ingredients -- pesto, seasonings and pasta -- cover, and reduce heat to medium.
Remove from heat as soon as the mixture is heated through, no more than another 3 minutes.
Spoon into serving bowls and sprinkle with the cheese, or pass cheese at the table.

Wine recommendation: Go with a rich white wine such as a buttery chardonnay or a golden-hued viognier or viognier blend (we popped open a white Cotes-du-Rhone, a viognier blend).

Great combo: crab and asparagus

It's asparagus season! While you can get the tasty spears any time of year -- as is true now of most fruits and veggies -- spring is when they are best. Local growers around here are bringing their asparagus to markets, and I find it easy to over-buy and then have to come up with ideas for serving my husband's favorite vegetable.
Last night we just roasted a bunch of it in the oven with olive oil and seasonings.

One flavor combination that I think works really well is to mix crabmeat with slices of asparagus. For company this weekend, I'm planning to make a crab and asparagus salad (recipe and photo to come), but here's another way to combine the two ingredients, courtesy of Eating Well magazine.

Recipe: Crab Salad Melts
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 3 asparagus spears, or 12 snow peas, trimmed and thinly sliced (about 1/3 cup)
• 8 ounces crabmeat, any shells or cartilage removed
• 1/3 cup finely chopped celery
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
• 1 scallion, finely chopped
• 4 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon low-fat mayonnaise
• 1/4 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
• 2-5 dashes hot sauce
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 4 whole-wheat English muffins, split and toasted
• 1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese

Instructions:

1. Place rack in the upper third of the oven; preheat broiler.
2. Place asparagus (or snow peas) in a medium microwave-safe bowl with 1 teaspoon water. Cover and microwave until tender, about 30 seconds. Add crab, celery, bell pepper, scallion, lemon juice, mayonnaise, Old Bay seasoning, hot sauce to taste and pepper; stir to combine.
3. Place English muffin halves, cut-side up, on a large baking sheet. Spread a generous 1/4 cup of the crab salad on each muffin half and sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon cheese. Broil until the cheese is melted, 3 to 6 minutes.

A wondrously good spring crop

I'm referring to asparagus -- a marvelous spring treat. Yes, you can get it from the supermarket year-round, but spring is the time when you can get locally grown asparagus. As with so many other foods, the local version is almost like another food altogether from the crops that are shipped thousands of miles before it reaches our tables -- or our mouths.

This salad recipe calls for several ingredients that you should be able to find now from local sources. Farmers will have a variety of lettuces now, so use whatever looks most appealing. The first new potatoes ought to be gracing farm stands throughout the area. Try to get garlic shoots—a little harder to find—or substitute local or supermarket chives.

Let the growing season begin!

Recipe: Spring Salad with Asparagus, Mixed Greens and New Potatoes

Serves 2 as a main course or 4 as a side dish; recipe can be doubled or tripled

Ingredients

For the vinaigrette:

• One-quarter cup Champagne or other white vinegar
• One teaspoon prepared mustard
• One tablespoon honey
• One-third cup extra-virgin olive oil
• One-quarter cup chopped garlic shoots, green garlic or chives (see ingredients note)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the salad:

• One-half pound small new potatoes, unpeeled, cut into bite-size pieces and roasted or boiled until just tender
• One-half pound asparagus, trimmed
• One tablespoon olive oil
• Five cups mixed spring lettuces
• Two tablespoons chopped pecans
• One-half cup sliced strawberries, or more to taste
• One-quarter cup goat or feta cheese sprinkles

Ingredients note: Among the area’s early crops are garlic shoots, also called green garlic. You can’t find them in supermarkets, but only in farmers markets. You can substitute chives, if necessary.

Instructions

For the vinaigrette: In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, honey and olive oil until smooth and creamy. Stir in the green shoots or chives and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

For the salad: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread the asparagus on a lightly oiled baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste, if desired. Roast in the hot oven for five minutes, stirring once. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Cut into bite size pieces, about two inches long.

Toss the greens with the potatoes, asparagus and pecans. Add vinaigrette to taste and toss well. Arrange on serving plates, spreading strawberries and crumbled cheese over each serving. Pass any extra dressing at the table.

Srping on a plate

I found this on Epicurious -- it's from a Gourmet magazine article a couple of years ago.
I substituted olive oil for butter in the original recipe.

Recipe: Asparagus, Peas and Basil (Serves 6)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots (about 2)
• 2 T olive oil
  
• 2 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3/4 pound shelled fresh peas (2 1/2 cups; 1 3/4 pound in pods) or 1 (10-ounce) package thawed frozen peas
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• Handful of torn basil leaves (about 3/4 cup)

Instructions:

Cook shallots in olive oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until just tender, about 4 minutes.

Stir in asparagus, peas, sea salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, then seal skillet with foil. Cook over medium heat until vegetables are tender but still slightly al dente, about 8 minutes. Stir in basil and sea salt to taste.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/healthy/nutritiousdishes/springvegetables/recipes/food/views/Asparagus-Peas-and-Basil-em-Piselli-con-Asparagi-e-Basilico-em-242035#ixzz0js7WB22q