Lemon, Pepper, and Asparagus Salad
Spring has finally sprung here in Cincinnati. And with the addition of a shiney new grill to our family, we’ve been opting for easy-peasey meals which include grilled meat and a pile of fresh vegetables. For maximum ease of meal prepping, we just grill the veggies, but sometimes I like to prepare them in other ways.
Lemon, pepper, and asparagus salad is one of those ways. This salad really highlights the fresh in-season asparagus. Since it cooked for a few minutes on the stovetop, it keeps a nice crunch and vibrant color.
The lemon juice and freshly ground pepper just enhance those flavors. I threw in some heirloom cherry tomatoes to add some color and texture to the dish. You could make it with or without the tomatoes.
One note about fresh tomatoes. I ALWAYS season them with coursely ground sea salt and freshly ground pepper. No matter what I’m doing with them, they always get seasoned. And don’t be afraid to use some salt on tomatoes. I remember watching an episode of Barefoot Contessa years ago where she talked about how the flavor of a tomato can really be enhanced by some salt, and how it’s hard to over-salt a tomato. I took those words to heart and firmly agree with her.
One Year Ago: Marbled Chocolate Chip Bundt and Pumpkin Cinnamon Swirl Bread
Two Years Ago: Lemon Garlic Roasted Chicken and Carrot Cake and Cheesecake Cake
Three Years Ago: Spring M&M Pretzel Treats and Vanilla Buttercream
Four Years Ago: Fauxstess Cupcakes and Spinach Pasta with Chicken Sausage, Mushrooms, Goat Cheese and Tomato
Lemon Pepper Asparagus Salad
Yield: Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
1 bunch asparagus (rinsed)
zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
bowl of ice water (for blanching)
Directions:
Chop the asparagus into small pieces.
Put the asparagus and a splash of water in a pot on the stove top. Cover with a lid and cook on medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, until asparagus turn bright green. Turn off the heat and transfer the asparagus to the ice bath.
Allow to sit in the ice water for a couple of minutes. Drain and transfer to a mixing bowl.
Add the oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and tomatoes and stir well. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Garnish with extra lemon zest if desired.
Recipe from Keep It Simple Foods
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
This sounds like a tasty dip, and I love that it’s so colorful! I can definitely relate – I’m not into the Superbowl game this year (we recently moved, too, and I prefer college football), but I am ALL about the food!
beantownbaker — January 25th, 2013 @ 6:12 pm
Were you guys moving during the holidays? We moved into our apartment on 12/21. It was rough… Even when it’s teams that I like, it’s still mostly about the food 🙂
i do love football food, and i’ve been meaning to try my hand at collard greens 😉
We didn’t move as recently as you! We made our move in October…and I’m just starting to feel settled. It is rough… Of course, the kitchen was the first room put together!
Approximately how much collard greens do you need? Can you use canned? This sounds terrific…like a soul food dip!
beantownbaker — January 27th, 2013 @ 4:08 pm
Sorry about that. Missed a key ingredient in the recipe. I updated it now. I used a pound of fresh collard greens. I haven’t tried it with canned. Let me know how it goes if you do.
I’m so not into the Super Bowl this year either, but I can always get behind some football food. I’m still trying to decide what to make for next weekend. This dip sounds so good!
YUM! I’ve never seen collards in a dip before.
Hey love this recipe. it is actually my daughters FAVORITE MEAL! but i want to know how do i make this into a freezer meal? should i do anything differently? or just make as directed and put them from oven to freezer?