Summer Meals: Cold Asparagus and Shrimp Salad

There is nothing better than cold salad served for dinner on a warm summer night.  This is the perfect recipe to pack for a night out listening to the Summer Concert series in Ballard Park (Westport, NY) or just relaxing on the back porch enjoying the night air.  Serve it with a bottle of Louis Jadot Pouilly-Fuiseé Chardonnay and a french baguette. Enjoy!


Cold Asparagus and Shrimp Salad

By: Robin Donovan and Juliana Gallin, authors of The Lazy Gourmet: Magnificent Meals Made Easy


INGREDIENTS:

¼ pounds asparagus, woody ends trimmed and spears sliced into 1½-inch lengths
3 tablespoons lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)
¼–½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼–½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 teaspoons sugar, depending on the sweetness of your lemons
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons thinly sliced red onion
½ pound cooked shrimp
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
⅓ cup toasted pine nuts
⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Put asparagus slices in a steamer basket placed inside a pot filled with about an inch of water. Bring water to a boil over high heat, lower heat, cover pot, and steam asparagus until just tender (2 to 6 minutes, depending on thickness of the spears). Place asparagus in a serving bowl and let cool in the fridge.

While asparagus is steaming and cooling, combine lemon juice, salt, pepper, and sugar in a small bowl or a jar with a tightly fitting lid. Add olive oil and whisk or shake vigorously until well combined. Taste and add salt, pepper, or sugar if needed. Add onion, letting it marinate in the dressing for a few minutes.

Toss shrimp, basil, pine nuts, and cheese with the asparagus (reserving a little of the cheese to sprinkle on top after dressing). Add the marinated onion and lemon vinaigrette to taste (you may have some vinaigrette left over). Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.

Photo Courtesy of Two Lazy Gourmets

SIMPLY SATISFYING SALADS

Maybe it’s the weather or lack of time that makes it difficult to cook a complete meal.  In both cases, salads are a natural, allowing quick assembly and colorful presentation.  Often the cooking process is little more than boiling some water for pasta, grain or blanching a vegetable.  To satisfy the appetite and for delicious versatility, bulk salads up with fresh vegetables, fruits, flavorful cheeses or a handful of nuts.  This tasty salad, plus three combinations below, is simple to prepare and easy on the budget, too.

CONFETTI PASTA SALAD

6-1/2 ounce jar marinated artichoke hearts with liquid     
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 rounded tablespoon country-style mustard
1/3 cup chopped marinated sun dried tomatoes
8 ounces tricolor pasta, cooked al dente
½ cup pine nuts
1-1/2 cups shredded Jarlsberg or Jarlsberg Lite cheese
1-1/2 cups celery root, cut matchstick style
1-1/2 cups chopped green (or yellow) pepper

In large salad bowl, mix first 4 ingredients together.  Add remaining ingredients, toss and serve.  Serves 4 - 6.  If you’d like, add chunks of albacore tuna or grilled chicken.

Creamy BLT Salad:  Cook 8 ounces fusilli pasta until al dente. While warm, toss with ¼ pound chopped cooked bacon (or prosciutto), 2 cups cherry tomato halves, 1 packed cup fresh chopped basil (or baby spinach), 1/2 cup chopped walnut halves and 1 4-ounce log fresh goat cheese, crumbled (we like soft unripened chèvre, from Woolwich Dairy).

Cool Green Bean Salad:  Blanch and immediately cool 1/2 pound skinny string beans.  Chop and combine with cooked couscous (enough to serve 4), 1 large can albacore tuna (drained), ½ cup slivered almonds, 1/4 cup chopped marinated sun dried tomatoes and 2 cups (small cubed) Jarlsberg. Whisk together ¼ cup fresh lemon juice with ½ cup olive oil, ½ teaspoon mustard and, to taste, sea salt and fresh ground black pepper.  Tip:  If you don’t care for couscous, use cooked, cool potatoes instead.

Blueberry Penne Pasta:  Cook 8 ounces penne pasta until al dente.  While warm, toss with 1/2 cup each coarsely chopped pecans or almonds and grated Jarlsberg, 1 packed cup baby arugula, 1-1/2 cups blueberries and 1/4 cup golden raisins (or chopped dried cherries).  Toss with “Cool Green Bean” vinaigrette, adding a touch of honey to it.

Story and recipe courtesy of Jarlsberg, a semi-soft part-skim milk cheese with large “eyes” and mild, mellow-nutty flavor.  A product of Norway, Jarlsberg is traditionally produced and aged, completely natural and an excellent source of protein and calcium.  Substitute Jarlsberg in almost any recipe calling for cheese—you’ll love the delicious results.  

For more information, visit www.jarlsbergusa.com

Photo credit:  www.jarlsbergusa.com