Asparagus, Egg, and Bacon Salad with Dijon Viniagrette

 

We made this for dinner last night and it was SO good. It is a keeper and will be repeated many times. For the two of us I used two bunches of asparagus,  about 6 slices of bacon, and 5 hard boiled eggs so of course there are left overs! This will be a perfect hot summer night meal and everything can be prepped ahead of time and left to chill in the fridge. The only thing I did differently than the recipe was to enlarge the portion size and devil the eggs. Next time, I will only devil the eggs with a little bit of the dressing to keep it super healthy.

The recipe was found on SkinnyTaste.com and advertised as a Paleo friendly meal. For the original recipe, click HERE.

For my version, here's my portions of ingredients:
2 bunches of asparagus, chopped
6 slices of crispy bacon (I make mine in the microwave)
5 hard boiled eggs (devil a bit with some of the dressing)


Dressing = Dijon Viniagrette
8 tablespoons olive oil
8 tablespoons red wine vinegar
4 tablespoons dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Pickled Asparagus for the May Raw/Cold Pack Challenge

I used Marissa's Pickled Asparagus recipe almost to a T, except I was unable to get Penzey's pickling mix which leads me to believe that I will have a much sweeter pickle than I intended. Marissa's recipe can be found HERE but I will write it out  my method below. One thing I regret not reading before I stumbled through the kitchen vying for available counter space was the recommendation to save the blanching water. Drained and left to cool, it provides a nutrient rich (and sustainable) water to water the house plants with! Thanks for the tip Marissa - no blanching water will ever go down the sink in this household again!

This was nice to do on a rainy Mother's Day after a wonderful Eggs Benedict breakfast from SP. Anticipating the rain, we got 90% of the garden in yesterday which is a tremendous feat for Maine and our track record. I'm still itching to get out there and plant the 160 onions that are just waiting patiently on the porch. 

Ingredients
2 pounds asparagus, trimmed to fit your pint jars and blanched in boiling water for approximately 10 seconds

3 cups vinegar (half apple cider vinegar, half white vinegar)
3 cups water
2 tablespoons kosher salt
4 tablespoons pickling spice
1 tablespoon red chili flakes
4 garlic cloves, peeled
4 slices of lemon
4 tall (12 oz)  pint jars

Process
1. In a hot water bath, sterilize your jars.
2. Put a  lemon slice in the bottom of each jar and pack the trimmed and blanched asparagus into the jars.

3.  Tuck a garlic clove down into the asparagus spears.

4. Bring the vinegar, water and spices to a boil. Pour into jars on top of asparagus, leaving at least 1/2 inch of head space.

5. Affix lids and rings on the jars and process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes (you can skip this step if you plan on just putting your pickles in the fridge).

6. Wait at least 24 hours before eating, to give the asparagus spears a chance to get sufficiently pickley.

Puffed Pastry Tarts or Asparagus, salmon and egg tarts

 

These wonderful puffed pastry tarts were inspired by the cover page recipe on Hannaford's Fresh this spring. The recipe found HERE was the basis for our nice spring dinner soon after Easter.You have to prep the dough in advance and refrigerate before using so plan ahead. You also can keep the prepared dough ( (steps 1 through 4) at room temperature for up to 4 hours or refrigerate for up to 1 day.

Ingredients - but also additional suggestions. 

1 (12-oz.) container plain whipped cream cheese

2 Tbsp. minced fresh chives

2 sheets puff pastry (about 1 lb.), thawed

2 1/2 lb. small to medium asparagus spears

9 medium eggs

Salt and pepper

8 oz. thinly sliced smoked salmon

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

Other topping options we did:

goat cheese
pickled red onions

sliced carrots (I used lacto-fermented ginger carrot slices) 

sliced tomato

Process:

1. On a lightly floured surface, cut each pastry sheet into quarters. Roll each piece into a 6x6" square, then trim with a paring knife to create even edges. Using the paring knife, score a 1" border around each square, being careful not to cut through dough.

2. Working one at a time, pierce area inside the border of each square all over with a fork. Transfer squares to two parchment-lined baking sheets and refrigerate until ready to assemble.

3. When ready to assemble,  Place racks in upper-middle and lower-middle of oven and heat to 400. 

4. Mix together cream cheese and chives in a small bowl and set aside. 

5. Cut asparagus into 4"-long spears. 

6. Beat 1 egg and brush along the border of each square.

7. Working inside the border, spread 3 tablespoons cream cheese mixture in an even layer.

8. Arrange asparagus side by side on top of cream cheese, alternating the direction of the tips.

9.  Season with salt and pepper and bake until pastry edges are golden and puffed, 10 to 12 minutes.

10. Remove baking sheets from oven. Gently push centers of tarts down with the back of a spoon, then crack eggs into each indent. 

11.  Return to oven and bake until egg whites are just set, 12 to 14 minutes, switching and rotating baking sheets halfway through. Top evenly with salmon and dill and serve immediately.