Recipe: Roasted Asparagus and Tomato Salad

Asparagus is one of my favourite vegetables; I can't get enough of them when they first come out in the spring! Usually, I'm too impatient to do more than lightly roast them in olive oil with a sprinkling of herbs, devouring them as soon as they're out of the oven. This approach may be the quickest way to get them into my belly, but I've found that a little bit of patience goes a long way, particularly when it comes to salads and pasta dishes. Here's a salad I made yesterday, inspired by something similar seen on the Kraft website and Alisa Burke's Greek dressing.

Roasted Asparagus and Tomato Salad

This particular salad is quick and easy, just like a Caprese salad and no less impressive. You can cheat and make this even faster by using your favourite bottled Italian or Greek dressing instead of the homemade one I'm sharing below. I really love the flavour of the dressing below though and I think using the oil from the roasted asparagus gives it a nice little twist.

This size of salad was perfect for me for lunch, and would have been just right for two to share as a side. Increase the number of tomatoes and asparagus to accommodate more servings.

Ingredients:

10 asparagus stalks
1 large tomato
2 green onions
olive oil (about 1/4 cup)
selection of your favourite herbs and spices: garlic salt, oregano, parsley, basil, pepper, thyme, savory
Parmesan cheese, grated or shaved

Dressing:

1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp lime juice
1 garlic clove, minced
dash of oregano and thyme
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil (from asparagus pan, more as needed)

Methods:

1. Trim your asparagus by simply snapping off the hard end.

If you bend the stalk near the end, you should be able to feel where the hard end gives way to the softer stem. Discard the ends; rinse the stalks.

2. Place the asparagus in a roasting dish. Drizzle with a generous amount of olive oil and season with herbs, salt and freshly ground pepper.

Roast in a 400F oven for 7 or 8 minutes, until soft but still crunchy.

3. Meanwhile, slice the tomato and arrange on your plate.

As you can see, I like my tomato with lots of pepper, so don't feel like you need to add extra here. Chop the onion and sprinkle over the tomato.

4. Once the asparagus are done, remove and allow to cool slightly.

Gently lay the asparagus over the tomato and onion.

5. Mix the dressing ingredients in a small glass with the oil leftover in your asparagus roasting pan. Taste and add more olive oil if desired.

Drizzle the dressing over your salad.

You'll probably end up with more dressing than you need, so use a spoon to drizzle instead of just pouring (if you pour, you'll get more oil and less of the tasty bits, like the garlic and mustard).

6. Top with Parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!