An Asparagus Salad with Peas & Mint for Early Summer

I’m almost tired of asparagus for the year…but not quite. I’m still purchasing a bunch occasionally…and will continue to do so as long as it continues to look vibrant and delicious. I’m still making my favorite asparagus pastas. But in June I mostly love to tuck it into salads. Lightly blanched—or even raw (shaved)—it adds interest and herbal notes to the green salads of late spring and early summer. It is great with roasted beets…jammy eggs…potatoes...grains… peas….

I have mentioned before that in the early days of the pandemic I began preparing a monthly “curbside dinner.” It was so successful that I continue to do it as my schedule allows. The meal is made up of three courses…and comes bagged and ready to “finish” (toss the salad…warm things that need warming…etc). I usually try to come up with at theme that knits the courses together (April in Paris…An Irish Feast…). But most of the time the theme is simply a celebration of the foods of the moment. Asparagus usually makes an appearance in the April and May dinners.

This year my schedule didn’t allow for a May dinner. Instead, I offered it on June 1 (to cover May and June—June is generally even busier than May…). I decided I could give asparagus a last gasp appearance since it was still abundant and of good quality. I put it in the first course salad…along with some fresh peas (in season in June…or available in those great little bags at Trader Joes’) and seasonal lettuces (arugula and a mix of butter lettuces, baby romaine and baby spinach). I also added a good pinch of whole mint leaves—which is abundant and tender in the garden now (and will be for another month or so).

If you have never added whole herbs to a salad, you should give it a try. The softer herbs—flat leaf parsley, basil, dill, tarragon, chives, etc.—are wonderful when added in to salads. If they are large, tear them into smaller pieces…but the smaller leaves can be added whole. Use them as you would lettuce…but with a lighter hand.

The dressing for this salad is a bit more complex than those that I typically make for home use, but for the curbside I wanted something that would wake up all of the mild and sweet flavors in this salad. And this one does just that. It is totally worth the small amount of extra time involved.

Other than the vinaigrette, the main thing that will be a game changer for this salad, is being careful to cook the asparagus and peas in well-salted water. If the vegetables aren’t well salted, the salad will be bland.

A couple of days after the dinner, I made the salad for myself with some of the leftover ingredients and served it for my dinner with a little bit of leftover roast chicken. It was fantastic. In general, salads are a great way of serving the last bits of leftover roasts. The meat can be reheated…or simply served cold (or room temperature), if heating will dry it out.

On another evening I made this salad for myself with the addition of a few steamed new potatoes (dressed with vinegar while they were still warm as for this great French potato salad with peas).  This too was delicious.

Asparagus Salad with Peas, Mint, Goat Cheese & Sunflower Seeds

2 medium scallions, trimmed and sliced finely on a long bias (to make about an ounce)
1/2 c. (a scant 3 oz.) shelled fresh peas (see note)
1 lb. asparagus, trimmed (to get about 1/2 lb. trimmed weight)
4 small handfuls stemmed arugula (about 1 1/2 oz)
A handful of mint leaves (1/4 oz.), torn if large
2 big handfuls mixed lettuces of your choice (see note)—about 2 oz.
1/4 to 1/3 c. roasted and salted sunflower seeds
3 oz. goat cheese
6 T. Sherry-Dijon Vinaigrette

Place the scallions in a bowl of ice water and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Drain well and blot dry with paper towels.

Fill a sauce pan with water, salt well, and bring to a boil. Add the peas and cook for one minute. Lift out using a bowl sieve and spread on towels to cool. Slice the trimmed asparagus in 1/4-inch thick slices on a long bias.

Return the water the peas were cooked in to a boil and add the asparagus. Cook until crisp tender—taste one after 2 minutes. Lift out and spread on towels to cool.

Place the peas, asparagus, scallions, arugula, mint and lettuces in a large bowl. Season with salt & pepper. Drizzle a small amount of the vinaigrette over (1 to 2 T.) and toss until all the ingredients are lightly coated, adding more vinaigrette if necessary. Mound on a platter or four individual plates. Scatter the sunflower seeds over. Then crumble the goat cheese over all. Drizzle the salad(s) with more vinaigrette.

Sherry-Dijon Vinaigrette:
3 T. Sherry vinegar
4 t. honey (1 oz.)
1 T. Dijon mustard
1 T. fresh lemon juice
3/4 t. Kosher salt
1 t. fennel spice, toasted & finely ground (see notes)
2/3 c. olive oil

Place all of the ingredients except the olive oil in a small bowl and whisk until smooth and the salt has completely dissolved. In a thin stream, add the oil while whisking constantly to form an emulsion. Taste and correct the seasoning. Makes about 1 cup of vinaigrette. Store in a jar in the fridge (allow to come to room temperature…and shake vigorously to re-emulsify—before using).

Notes:

• You may use frozen peas if fresh are not available. There is no need to cook frozen peas. Just thaw and use.
• I like a young, soft mix of lettuces for this salad—baby lettuces of all kinds…but especially Bibb/Boston.
• To toast fennel spice, place in a dry sauté pan over moderately high heat. Shake the pan occasionally. When the fennel is fragrant…and beginning to take on a pale golden color in spots, transfer to a plate to cool. Grind by bashing in a mortar & pestle…or using a spice grinder.
• To make a more substantial salad…appropriate for an entrée, serve as a side for chicken, fish or lamb. You could also serve it as an entrée without meat…just add a few new potatoes (Steam or boil; halve, quarter or slice while warm and dress with a teaspoon of vinegar for every half pound of potatoes. Season with salt and cool before adding to the salad.)

Printable Version

Vacation Inspiration—Potatoes, Tomatoes & Green Beans with a Caper Vinaigrette, Fresh Herbs & Slow Roasted Salmon

I always take a stack of food magazines with me when I travel.  By the time my vacation rolls around I'm almost always behind in my reading...but even if I weren't, cooking magazines provide the perfect amount of activity when I  know there will be many short—or long—moments of down time ahead of me.  If I am somewhere that offers me the opportunity to cook, they also provide instant inspiration.  Almost without fail I return home with a dog-eared and post-it note tagged stack...and loads of new ideas.

Because some of the best meals of my life have been at the table of my friend Bonnie...and her table is imbued with the food traditions of Sweden and Denmark...I always stop and take a closer look at articles about Scandinavian food.  In the June issue of Food & Wine this year there was a travel article (with recipes, of course) about Stockholm.  A recipe for a substantial salad of vegetables topped with flaked hot smoked salmon particularly caught my eye.  It popped into my mind as I was considering what to make for dinner at the end of my first full day back home.

The components of my salad were similar...but not identical... to the original.  I didn't have any hot smoked salmon...but I did have some nice canned, olive oil packed tuna (from Trader Joe's...not the bank breaking stuff from Dean &DeLuca).  I added some poached fingerling potatoes to the green beans and cherry tomatoes called for in the original.  And I used a mix of arugula and butter lettuce for my greens.  The recipe in the magazine used a mix of red and green Bibb...and also included a few shaved radishes.  I thought the peppery arugula would add the right note in place of those radishes...and it did.

The thing about the Food & Wine salad that seemed the most unusual—and made me stop longer for an even closer look—was the fried caper vinaigrette.  I love fried capers...and I loved the idea of using the oil used to fry them as part of the vinaigrette.  The vinaigrette in the recipe was a bit more acidic than the vinaigrettes I usually favor...but with the potatoes and fish and soft butter lettuce, it was just the thing. 

We liked the salad so much that I made it again a few days later....this time with slow-roasted salmon.  And it was this version that I really preferred. The tuna was good...and I would make it again...but the salmon version was outstanding.  If you have never slow roasted salmon, check out my post from a few years ago.  It is so easy.  It's a perfect method for salmon destined for a salad....and a perfect way to prepare fish in the summer when you don't want to heat up your kitchen with a super hot oven. 

I returned from my summer vacation well rested...and so inspired from my rambles through my reading material.  I'm sure I will never get around to making all the things that caught my eye.  But I hope that they will at least continue to percolate around in my mind and manifest themselves in my cooking—and here on my blog—during the months to come and until my next opportunity to get away to relax and recharge.

Potato, Tomato & Green Bean Salad with a 
Caper Vinaigrette, Dill & Slow Roasted Salmon

6 oz. Salmon filet (with or without skin)

Olive oil

Salt & Pepper

Several sprigs of dill

1/2 lb. fingerling potatoes

1/2 t. cider or sherry vinegar

1/4 of a small red onion, very thinly sliced/shaved (about 1/4 c.)

5 to 6 oz. green beans, trimmed and cut into 2- to 3-inch lengths

5 oz. mixed cherry tomatoes

2 T. coarsely chopped dill, plus extra picked dill for garnish

2 T. minced Italian flat leaf parsley

Caper vinaigrette

1 1/2 c. bite sized pieces Bibb/butter lettuce (55 grams), rinsed and spun dry

1 1/2 c. stemmed arugula (30 grams), rinsed and spun dry

Fried capers

Place the salmon in an oiled baking dish (skin side down) and season with salt and pepper.  If you like, scatter a few sprigs of dill over the salmon.  Place in a 275° oven and bake until an instant read thermometer reads 120°—about  30 to 40 minutes.  Remove and set aside until ready to serve the salad.

While the salmon roasts, scrub the potatoes and place in a saucepan.  Cover with cold water.  Salt the water and bring to a simmer.  Cover and simmer gently until tender to the tip of a knife—about 15 to 20 minutes.  Drain.  When cool enough to handle (but still warm), halve lengthwise.  If the skins are tough, pull them off (if they are tough, this will be easily accomplished).  Place the potatoes in a large bowl and drizzle with the cider or sherry vinegar and season with salt.  Set aside.

While the potatoes cook, rinse the onions under cold running water—or soak in a small bowl of ice water for five minutes and drain.  Spread on a double thickness of paper towels and blot dry.  

Blanch the beans in a pot of boiling salted water until cooked to your liking—4 to 7 minutes.  Drain and spread on towels to cool.  (You may cook the beans in a separate pot, but I found it works just as well to drain the potatoes and use the pot the potatoes were cooked in—the beans will easily cook and cool in the amount of time it takes to cool and peel the potatoes.)

Halve or quarter the cherry tomatoes (depending on their size).  Leave them cut side up on the cutting board (or transfer to a plate) and season well with salt and pepper.  Let sit while you are pulling together all of the ingredients.

When ready to serve, add the beans, red onions, cherry tomatoes and herbs to the bowl with the potatoes.  Season with salt & pepper and drizzle in about 2/3 of the vinaigrette.  Toss to coat all the vegetables well.  Add the greens, season and toss again.  If the salad seems dry, add more of the vinaigrette.

Mound the salad on a platter or individual serving plates.  Flake the salmon into large chunks and arrange over the salad (discarding the skin if the salmon was cooked on the skin). Scatter the capers and a few dill sprigs over the salad and serve. 

Serves 2 as an entrée.  The recipe for the salad and vinaigrette are both easily multiplied to serve more.

Variations:

• Replace the salmon with a 5 oz. can of olive oil packed, solid white tuna.
• Add a hard- or medium-cooked egg or two (halved or quartered) for a more substantial salad 

Caper Vinaigrette

3 to 4 T. olive oil

2 T. capers, rinsed and blotted dry

A scant 2 T. sherry vinegar

1/2 t. Dijon Mustard

Salt & Freshly ground pepper

Place 3 T. of olive oil in a small sauté or sauce pan and set over moderate heat.  When the oil is warm, add the capers.  They will begin to sizzle and pop as the oil continues to heat up.  Allow them to sizzle until they open and begin to darken and crisp—about 2 to 3 minutes from when they first begin to actively sizzle. 

Strain the oil into a heat proof container and let cool.  Spread the capers on some paper towels and set aside.

Place the sherry vinegar, mustard and a couple of good pinches of salt in a small bowl.  Whisk until smooth.  Measure the cooled oil and add more olive oil to make 3 T.  Add the oil to the vinegar-Dijon mixture in a thin stream while whisking constantly.  Taste and correct the seasoning and balance with salt and pepper.  Set aside.

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