Asparagus Salad with Sugar Snap Peas, Strawberries & Double Strawberry Vinaigrette
They say what grows together goes together, and those words couldn’t be truer than when combining these seasonal flavor powerhouses: fresh asparagus, juicy sugar snap peas, and sweet, ripe strawberries. The asparagus stalks are peeled into ribbons, and the tips are sautéed until just crisp/tender – the best of both worlds. I’ve also thrown in some roasted pumpkin seeds for crunch, and slightly sweet Double Strawberry Vinaigrette for dressing. Oh – and then there’s the blue cheese…. Good stuff, Maynard.
Ingredients
- FOR THE SALAD
- 3 bunches of asparagus washed and tough ends removed
- 3 heaping cups of fresh sugar snap peas washed and trimmed (any strings removed)
- About 1 cup of radishes sliced thinly (it’s nice to keep some of the green stem on the radish – it looks cool)
- 1 orange or yellow bell pepper cut into 1-2 inch slivers
- 1-2 cups frozen peas thawed
- About 5 green onions sliced on the bias
- About 2 cups of fresh strawberries stems removed and sliced
- FOR THE PUMPKIN SEEDS
- About 3 cups raw pumpkin seeds you won’t need nearly this much, but take it from me, once you start munching away on these things, they will disappear in a big hurry so you might as well make a whole bunch
- Canola or other neutral oil probably a couple of teaspoons
- Salt
- FOR THE DOUBLE STRAWBERRY VINAIGRETTE
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons strawberry balsamic vinegar or any other fruity balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon strawberry jam
- 1 cup fresh strawberries chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- FOR THE GARNISH
- 1 good-sized wedge of your favorite blue cheese
Instructions
- FOR THE SALAD
- Remove the tops from the asparagus. Set aside
- Using a vegetable peeler, peel the asparagus stalks into strips. You won’t be able to peel the whole thing but just set the pieces you can’t peel aside. They will be great either raw, tossed into a salad, or quick sautéed for a side vegetable treat.
- Slice the sugar snap peas in half, lengthwise.
- In a large skillet, quickly sauté the asparagus tops in a little bit of oil until just crisp/tender. This will only take a couple of minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
- Toss the asparagus ‘ribbons’, sugar snap peas, radishes, bell pepper, and frozen peas together. Then either garnish with the asparagus tops and strawberry slices, or GENTLY toss them into the salad.
- FOR THE PUMPKIN SEEDS
- Heat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Spread out the pumpkin seeds on a cookie sheet (line the sheet with foil if you don’t want to wash the pan, which is how I handle this particular situation).
- Either spray or lightly drizzle just a couple of teaspoons of oil over the seeds, and sprinkle with kosher salt.
- Smoosh the seeds together with the oil and salt to make sure all the seeds get some oil and seasoning.
- Bake in the oven for right about ten minutes, or until you can smell the seeds roasting. Another way to tell if they are done is if some of the seeds appear to be turning brown while the others are still green.
- Remove from oven and set aside to cool. When cool enough to handle, grab a paper towel and scrunch it over the seeds to remove any excess oil.
- Make a valiant attempt not to eat all of the seeds before serving the salad.
- FOR THE DOUBLE STRAWBERRY VINAIGRETTE
- In a medium sized bowl or blender, combine the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and strawberry jam. Beat well until combined, and dressing gets a little bit thickened.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Mix in the fresh strawberries, and continue blending for just a few seconds. You want to make sure there are still some nice pieces of berry surviving.
- TO SERVE
- Arrange the salad on a platter, and garnish with the strawberry slices and sautéed asparagus tips.
- Drizzle on the vinaigrette, top generously with pumpkin seeds, and either crumble the blue cheese over the top or serve wedges individually.
