Have you ever seen asparagus growing in a field? They look like little green soldiers in a row standing at attention and ready to do battle. Good thing for us that they’re fighting for our good health.
Here’s my easy to make asparagus salad recipe and here’s the link to my YouTube channel if you want to watch me make the salad, okay there is some funny dancing too.
Salad:
1 lb (500 g) fresh asparagus
½ large red pepper, diced
One – 6 oz (170 mL) jar marinated artichoke hearts, well drained, and chopped coarsely
2 tbsp (30 mL) diced fresh parsley
Dressing:
1 tbsp (15 mL) extra olive oil
1 tbsp (15 mL) white wine vinegar
½ tsp (2 mL) grainy Dijon mustard
Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- Rinse asparagus well, cut off the woody part of the stem and discard. Steam the spears till tender crisp, heavy on the crisp part. Don’t over cook them. Grey-green droopy spears of over cooked asparagus are a sin in the culinary world.
- Once you have reached your desired level of tender/crisp, about 3 minutes, plunge them into a clean sink of cold water to stop the cooking. Drain in a colander.
- In a large bowl whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, and the Dijon.
- Add the red pepper, artichoke hearts, and the parsley. Toss well.
- Cut the asparagus into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces keeping the heads intact. Add to the bowl and gently toss. Cover and store in fridge till serving time. It tastes better after a couple of hours but it’s still great if you eat it right away.
Makes approx. 4 cups (1L) One serving = ½ cup
One serving contains: 40 Calories, 1.7 g Total fat, 0 g Sat Fat, 0 g Trans Fat, 40 mg Sodium, 5.1 g Carbs, 2 g Fiber, 1.8 g Sugars, 2 g Protein
Diabetes Food Choice Values Per Serving: 1 Extra, ½ Meat and Alternatives
Professional Home Economist Tip
For the fans of raw asparagus, this recipe is just as great without steaming the asparagus. Quicker too.
Asparagus 101 or everything you need to know about asparagus.