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 combines 2 of my husband’s loves – shrimp and cilantro! Love the ice cube trick too!
Yum, I love shrimp! Hadn’t thought to flavor it with pesto. Warm crusty bread would be yummy with it!
~ingrid
OH WOW so simple and so beautiful! I need to make myself some pesto cubes for moments like these 🙂
What a delicious and easy dinner! I’m lucky if I’m home by 8:30, so I completely understand needing quick recipes! I’ll have to try the frozen pesto trick.
i just made my first batch of ice cube pesto from our basil forest. neil panics every time i make pesto. he needs verification that i have not used up too much basil. if i use 10% of what is in the garden, then we are in the safety zone. let it grow back, use another 10%. at the end of the season, we will have 9000 cubes of pesto in the freezer and neil will be happy. totally jealous of your new stove, btw. i want a griddle!
I love the frozen pesto concept! I have a lot of basil, but there are only two of us in my house and we can only eat so much. I will have to try this. The shrimp looks great.
this looks great, and it really can’t get much easier
Hi there! Love this idea. Great job!
I was wondering where I can find pesto? Also, do you have any ideas for sides that would be good with this? I’m not familiar with pesto’s flavor and I want to surprise my husband with something 🙂 Thanks!
Jori – I make my own pesto using this recipe.