Yes, your eyes are not fooling you. I’ve placed another salad up on the blog today. After receiving multiple comments about snow days and jealousy over grill worthy temps, I determined that it might be in my best interest to throw up a spring salad that doesn’t require an outdoor flame. After all, even us Southern girls experience cold temps every now and then (as witnessed by one such nameless food blogger who was over at her vegetable garden last night covering all her planted seedlings for the “not supposed to happen in April” freeze that blanketed the city this morning). Shh… you didn’t hear that from me.
Instead of the grill, this salad utilizes the oven for a quick and delicious roasting of a favorite spring time vegetable; asparagus. Add in an egg and some bacon and this dish becomes a versatile feast that can be enjoyed for any meal from breakfast to lunch to dinner.
Start out by whisking together a little salad dressing. If you love lemons like I do, then this is will be your new favorite salad topper.
Think dill meets lemon meets mustard meets mascarpone cheese. Do the hokey pokey and turn yourself around…. now THIS is what it’s all about.
Set it to the side and mix up a little oil, salt, pepper and fresh thyme. Toss in a pound of asparagus and lay it out on a cookie sheet.
Slide those beautiful green stalks into the oven and roast, roast, roast. While the asparagus is enjoying a little warmth, fry up a couple strands of bacon followed by an egg. Cook the egg the way you like it best. I’m an over medium girl, a little dripping yoke does wonder for a dish in my most humble of opinions.
Assembly is easy peasy. Simply toss a bit of the dressing with a handful of spinach and top with the asparagus, egg and bacon.
Even if it’s not warm enough yet to grill where you are, you can still enjoy a mood pleasing spring salad that will have you quickly forgetting about old man winter’s last attempts at a cold weather chill.
For more asparagus inspired culinaria, be sure to check out the flavor filled links below:
Fennel Salad with Roasted Beets and Shaved Asparagus from A Spicy Perspective
Creamy Asparagus Soup from Annie Bakes
Israeli Couscous Salad with Roasted Asparagus, Artichokes and Spinach from Two Peas and Their Pod
Cooking Light – Cooking with Asparagus
Roasted Asparagus Salad with Lemon Mascarpone Dressing
Yield: 4 Adult Sized Salad Servings
Total Time: 45 min
Ingredients:
For the Dressing:
1 Lemon, Zested and Half Juiced
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
1 tsp Fresh Dill, Chopped
1/2 tsp Sugar
1 Tbsp Mascarpone
Salt and Pepper to Taste
1 Pound Fresh Asparagus (1/4 Pound per Salad)
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Fresh Thyme
1 Pinch Salt and Pepper
8 Strips Bacon (2 per Salad)
4 Eggs (1 Egg per Salad)
8 Oz. Fresh Spinach (2 Oz. Per Salad)
Directions:
Whisk together all the dressing ingredients until incorporated and set to the side.
Add the olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper to a baking dish.
Drop in the asparagus and spin it around to cover completely.
Line a cookie sheet with foil and spread the tossed asparagus out over the top.
Slide into an oven preheated to 350 degrees and let roast for 10 minutes.
While the veggies are roasting, grab up a frying pan and cook the bacon.
Remove from the pan, drain out the grease and fry up your eggs to the hardness you desire.
Toss the spinach with the dressing and top with the asparagus, egg and bacon.
Comments
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
oh yum, I think I can safely uncover the grill this weekend, yippee! A full month early, anne
This looks so delicious – eggs with asparagus is always a great combo and the dressing sounds incredible…
I’ve also nominated your blog for a Happy Blogger Award that was previously bestowed on me. Thanks for bringing happiness to my life through your blog and the details are in my post for today…
I love everything in this salad! Asparagus season is just around the corner for us.
Wow, what a great salad! Looks delicious!
Yum! I think I’ll wait until my weird pregnancy aversion to eggs goes away (it’s so annoying, since they’re normally one of my favorite things to toss on top of a meal), but then I’m all over this!
Oh YUM!
You made this simple recipe look so yum, Julie. The dressing is sure a treasure to preserve!
WOW! This of my kind of salad; i am collecting recipes for all kind of salad; this one I will surely try; thank you for always offering us great recipes.
Rita
mmm… what a great meal! beautiful and healthy!
What a lovely salad Julie! And it is the perfect accompaniment for grilled meats! This one is a keeper!
Love grilled asparagus and what a great idea using mascarpone in the dressing! YUM!
This salad looks stunning and delicious! what a brilliant summer idea!
Hey Julie!
I made this and wow! So incredibly delicious I’ve thought about it every single day since. Here’s a link to my picture:
http://www.recklesshousewife.com/2012/04/would-you-take-bullet-for-
me.html
Thanks for all the great recipes!!! Stopped by to find a good pork chop one for Monday night. I’ll let you know!