It was a very exciting day this past weekend when my mom dropped off a plastic bag holding our first taste of the new spring asparagus! The only problem was that I couldn’t decide exactly what to do with it. My first thought was to grill it up- but we haven’t gotten the grill set up yet, and we also need to find the best place to refill a propane tank around here. That led me to thinking of some of the best ways to eat asparagus- and that in turn made me think of eggs and bacon. Asparagus and eggs are a natural fit for each other, but I wasn’t really in the mood for a breakfast-for-dinner treatment.
I decided on a salad. With eggs, bacon, and asparagus. I had everything on hand to make a rather spectacular main dish salad for supper- accompanied by some toasted croissants, I think everyone in the family would be happy campers when it came to dinner time.
I began by hard-boiling some eggs. While those were cooking, I put a pan on the stove with just 1/2 an inch of water in the bottom of it- along with a healthy pinch of salt. When that came to a simmer, I plopped in my asparagus spears, added the lid, and set the timer for just 2 minutes. 2 minutes later, I drained the asparagus and sprinkled them with salt and pepper, and set them aside.
In a large bowl I added several handfuls of spinach, and then I chopped and washed several handfuls of romaine lettuce as well. A cucumber was thinly sliced, and a carrot was peeled into delicate ribbons. Then I went for the good stuff. Six hard-boiled eggs were peeled and cut into eighths, and then I got some delicious deli-style smoked ham out of the fridge. I rolled a few slices of that up and cut them into ribbons as well. I also happen to have some delicious aged cheddar in the fridge, so I cut off several nuggets of that and scattered that in the salad as well. Finally, I cut my asparagus into bite sized lengths and added that to the salad. At the table, anyone who wanted could add bacon bits to their salad.
It was a spectacular dinner. We’re still in a healthful eating state of mind, so this salad really made us happy. The blanches asparagus was an amazing addition to salad- and I wouldn’t hesitate to do that again in a heartbeat. But paired with the occasional bite of hard-boiled egg and ribbons of good ham and salty aged cheese- oh, it was truly a wonderful salad.
For a long time, I stayed away from the idea of salads for dinner. I just didn’t think the kids would be big fans of the idea. Don’t ask me why that is, because when we go out for dinner, the first thing Abigail asks to look at is the salad selection- it’s definitely her favorite food. And if I add a bread or toast or something along those lines, Zander is pretty happy with salad as well. So I expect you’ll see a lot more salads here on Tummy Treasure as we roll into the growing season. I have the first few sections of garden planted, and we’re all super excited to hear when the big downtown farmer’s market opens for the season- no longer a 35 minute drive away, we can be there in just five minutes!! Hello, fresh vegetables!
Consider adding this wonderful spring asparagus to your next salad- and if the idea of a green salad doesn’t appeal, I have other options! There is this Chinese Chicken Salad from the Barefoot Contessa, or this Couscous with Asparagus, Snow Peas and Radishes. Both are delicious ways to squeeze in that asparagus while it’s still here, and it’s still fresh as can be.
