orange, asparagus, spinach salad

I recently wrote a post about how and why salads should be for dinner, and another post all about dressings.  
Salad, it is dinner
salad dressing tutorial


These posts are important. They are like tools in your cooking belt. It is really easy to come up with dinner if you have a few tools in your belt and know how to use them. When I attended chef school one of the greatest things I learned was that cooking is not just about recipes, it is learning about food and techniques.  Don't get me wrong, recipes are essential when baking and should be followed exactly, but when cooking main dishes, recipes are to be used as inspiration and a springboard for diving off and making your own dish.


 This is how I came up with this recipe. I used what was in my fridge and available at that moment. If I would have had some great cheese like feta or parmesan I would have sprinkled some of that on it. This is what cooking is all about. This is what I was talking about when I wrote a post about living the Mediterranean diet.



 

 

 

 

 



Orange, asparagus, spinach salad

 

serves 4

 

10 ounce package baby spinach leaves

1 bunch asparagus

2 oranges peeled and segmented (or you could use canned mandarins)

1 Tablespoon  sesame seeds for the top

 

 

1. Cut the asparagus into bite sized pieces and then steam the asparagus for 1-2 minutes just until tender and cool in ice water. 

2. Drain the asparagus well

3. Toss the asparagus with the spinach leaves and orange segments

4. Divide among 4 serving plates

5. Drizzle with your choice of dressing

6. Top with Sesame seeds

 

Dressing I used:

 

Orange honey dressing

 

1/4 cup orange juice

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 Tablespoon honey

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

 

In a small jar with a lid shake ingredients together until blended.

 

 

We served this salad with a nice piece of baked fish and had a wonderful dinner in minutes. This is our version of "fast food"

 

 

 

This post is part of real food wednesdays