Happy Quarantine Ya’ll! Anyone else going as stir crazy as me? Times are tough right now and we are all being asked to stay inside. If you hadn’t had the chance to do some major food shopping before all of this, chances are you are getting creative with some recipes. That’s how I came up with this roasted asparagus salad recipe.
Thankfully before we all got locked down here in North Carolina I was able to do some food shopping for some fresh food. I had a bunch of asparagus that I wanted to use up and decided instead of just eating it as a side vegetable like I normally do, why not make it the star in a hearty nutritious salad.
A good salad to me has different textures, colors and flavors that blend well together. So when coming up with this salad that was my goal. I looked through the pantry and fridge to check out what else we had and what might be a good compliment to the asparagus.
On my hunt, I found cucumber, red kidney beans, almonds, red onion and quinoa. Oh and I had a block of parmesan cheese so you know I shaved some of that in. For a dressing I made my go to lemon vinaigrette and I have to say, this salad turned out wonderful! After popping it in the fridge to chill for a few hours it was ready for lunch and we all enjoyed this hearty salad during this crazy time!
Roasted Asparagus Salad
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 bunch asparagus cut into 2 inch pieces
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 1/3 cup quinoa
- 1- 15oz can red kidney beans rinsed and drained
- 1/2 english cucumber peeled
- 1/3 cup almonds
- 1/2 red onion diced
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese shaved
Dressing
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Instructions
-
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil and place the asparagus pieces on the pan. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Roast in oven for 15-20 minutes until tender.
-
While asparagus are cooking, add the quinoa and 2/3 cups of water into a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover for about 10-15 minutes until all the water is absorbed. Set aside.
-
In a large bowl, add the red kidney beans, red onion and almonds. Either dice or peel the cucumber into strips and cut into bite size pieces and add to the bowl. Once asparagus and quinoa are cooked, add those in too and toss to combine.
-
Add all of the dressing ingredients into a little bowl and whisk to combine. Pour over the salad and toss. Lastly add the parmesan cheese in and give one last toss.
-
Store in fridge until ready to serve. Serve cold as is or over a bed of greens.
Enjoy!
Melissa
