Today's vegetable recipe: Asparagus and scallions gently poached, then drizzled with a simple vinaigrette and tossed with hard-cooked egg. Dreamy good plus low carb and low cal. Weight Watchers 1 point.
How many children have gagged over boiled asparagus? What were we thinking, leeching all color and flavor from the earthy spears, leaving a mushy gushy slimy mess? Ish, no wonder.
So please, stick with me here, I really truly want to sell you on this little salad which I completely adored. These asparagus are not boiled -- nosiree, they are poached. What's the difference? Marketing, people, vegetable marketing.
And one more thing. The asparagus are poached with -- no turning up your nose, please! -- scallions. Yes, other people call those little gems green onions, but me, I'm sticking to scallions if only for the linguistic loveliness of the sibilant alliteration of asparagus scallion salad.
Am I losing you? Then let me pull out a little asparagus capital. There are nearly three dozen asparagus recipes on this website and this little salad makes the Top Five. Still don't believe me? Then believe Heidi from 101 Cookbooks who paired asparagus, green onion and farro in this gorgeous vegetarian supper.
Spring sunshine in a spoon. That's what this is.
ASPARAGUS SCALLION SALAD
Hands-on time: 25 minutes
Time to table: 1 hour
Serves 4
Time to table: 1 hour
Serves 4
Water to cover for poaching
1 pound fresh asparagus
2 big bunches scallions (about a half pound)
1 tablespoon good red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon good olive oil
Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 hard-cooked egg, see Perfect Hard-Cooked Eggs, chopped
Bring the water to a boil in a vessel as long as the asparagus.
Wash the asparagus, paying special attention to the tips which can be gritty. With a vegetable peeler, peel shave off the skin from the bottom 3 inches of each stalk (this helps them cook evenly). Snap off the ends, they'll break naturally at the right point.
Wash the scallions. Slice off the roots and any wilted leaves, also any loose layers around the bulb.
Drop the asparagus and scallions into the boiling water, leave uncovered and let boil -- I mean, poach -- for about 6 minutes. Lift out of the water and rinse under cold water in a colander. Cut into pieces about one-inch long.
In a bowl, gently toss the poached pieces with the remaining ingredients. Transfer to a serving dish and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
KITCHEN NOTES
Save the asparagus ends to make Asparagus Soup. I collect them in the freezer until there are enough. I'd recommend medium-to-fat spears of asparagus and green onions for this recipe. If you have fat asparagus but skinny green onions, consider pulling the green onions out first. You definitely don't want them to get mushy. To my taste, the egg is optional but it does add good texture contrast. 
MORE ASPARAGUS RECIPES
~ Lemon Asparagus ~
~ Roasted Asparagus with Feta ~
~ Gorgeous Raw Asparagus Salad ~
~ more asparagus recipes ~
~ more Weight Watchers recipes ~
~ more low-carb recipes ~
~ Lemon Asparagus ~
~ Roasted Asparagus with Feta ~
~ Gorgeous Raw Asparagus Salad ~
~ more asparagus recipes ~
~ more Weight Watchers recipes ~
~ more low-carb recipes ~
RECENT KITCHEN PARADE RECIPES
~ Broccoli Rigatoni with Chickpeas & Lemon ~
~ Homemade Yeast Rolls: My Mom's 'Ice Cream Pail Buns' ~
~ Spinach Soup with Perfect Hard-Cooked Eggs ~
~ Lemon Pudding Cake ~
~ Mexican Gashouse Eggs ~
~ Cooking for One or Two ~
~ Kitchen Parade by Shirley ~
celebrating Kitchen Parade's 50th anniversary
~ Broccoli Rigatoni with Chickpeas & Lemon ~
~ Homemade Yeast Rolls: My Mom's 'Ice Cream Pail Buns' ~
~ Spinach Soup with Perfect Hard-Cooked Eggs ~
~ Lemon Pudding Cake ~
~ Mexican Gashouse Eggs ~
~ Cooking for One or Two ~
~ Kitchen Parade by Shirley ~
celebrating Kitchen Parade's 50th anniversary
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Looking for healthy ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Alphabet of Vegetables. Healthy eaters will love the low carb recipes and the Weight Watchers recipes.
© Copyright 2009
© Copyright 2009
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10 comments:
i heart asparagus!
This looks yummy! Love your site as I adore veggies! Do you find that peeling the ends makes them less stringy? I usually snap off the ends and leave it at that...?
VeggieVixen - Me too! This was especially good!
Dishin And Dishes ~ I go back and forth. I usually snap off the ends too, only. But I do think that the peeling helps cook the spears more evenly.
oh, i so needed these recipes! i have tons of "wild" asparagus growing in my flower bed this year!!!
I like to steam my asparagus just until it's crisp tender. Yummy that way.
Perfect!
that is simple, delicious and very appetizing :) What kind of vinaigrette did you use? Do you recommend anything in particular that goes well with the flavor of asparagus?
Natalie ~ Lucky you! Missouri asparagus won't arrive for some weeks so in the mean time, I'm making do!
Stephen ~ Perfect, indeed. Thank you!
A and N ~ Thank you! The 'vinaigrette' is as simple as the spoonfuls of red wine vinegar and olive oil, no more. If you don't have red wine vinegar, I'd recommend something gentle and fruity, maybe a sherry vinegar or a champagne vinegar. But don't stress over the kind of vinegar, just be sure it's gentle so not to overwhelm the poached asparagus and scallion.
Sounds so seasonally fresh and refreshing - thanks for the great idea! :)
Pretty picture. I love the egg on top!
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Thank you for taking a moment to write! I read each and every comment, for each and every recipe, whether a current recipe or a long-ago favorite. If you have a specific question, it's nearly always answered quick-quick. ~ Alanna