Asparagus Pickled Beets Blue Cheese Salad Recipes

PICKLED ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Trim the cut end of the asparagus spears, and cut them into 3 inch lengths. Place them in a large bowl with 1/3 cup salt, and cover with water. Let stand for 2 hours. Drain and rinse under cool water, and pat dry.
• Sterilize two pint size wide mouth jars in simmering water for 5 minutes.
• In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the vinegar, sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt, mustard seed, dill seed and onion rings. Bring to a boil, and boil for one minute.
• Pack the asparagus spears, tips up, in the hot jars leaving 1/2 of space from the rim. Tuck one dill sprig into each jar, and sprinkle in 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Pour hot pickling liquid into the jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of the rim. Wipe rims with a clean damp cloth, and seal with lids. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
• Cool to room temperature. Check seals when cool by pressing the center of the lid. It should not move. Label and date; store in a cool dark place. If any jars have not sealed properly, refrigerate and eat within two weeks.

HEARTS OF PALM SALAD WITH BEETS AND BLUE CHEESE

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients except dressing in large bowl; toss to blend. Add 1/2 cup dressing (or more); toss again to coat.

BEET SALAD WITH PECANS AND BLUE CHEESE

Steps:

• Place beets into a large saucepan and pour in enough water to cover beets by 1 inch; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until skins begin to loosen, about 20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) and lightly grease a baking dish.
• Drain beets, remove skins, and cut into halves or quarters, depending on size. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
• Roast in the preheated oven until beets are dark in color and almost fork tender, but not too soft, 30 to 40 minutes. Cool beets, dice into 1/2-inch cubes, and place in a bowl.
• Combine olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, and honey in a lidded jar for the honey-mustard vinaigrette. Close jar and shake to combine. Pour vinaigrette over beets and chill in the refrigerator until flavors have melded, 1 to 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, heat butter in a skillet over low heat. Add onions and cook until caramelized, 15 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat, cool, and chop.
• Arrange 1/4 of the marinated beets in a solid circle on 4 salad dishes. Top with layers of onions and micro greens and sprinkle with blue cheese and pecans. Drizzle remaining beet vinaigrette around each salad, if desired. Serve chilled.

MARINATED ASPARAGUS WITH BLUE CHEESE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, bring 6 cups water to a boil. Add asparagus; cook, uncovered, 2-3 minutes or just until crisp-tender. Remove asparagus and immediately drop into ice water. Drain and pat dry., In a large resealable plastic bag, combine green onions, oil, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. Add asparagus; seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate at least 1 hour., Drain asparagus, discarding marinade. Place asparagus on a serving plate; sprinkle with cheese.

BLUE CHEESE & ASPARAGUS SALAD

Steps:

• Fill a large bowl with ice water. Set aside.
• Bring large pot of salted water to a boil.
• Add asparagus and cook until crisp-tender.
• Drain asparagus and plunge into ice bath for 1 minute, then drain and set aside.
• Whisk together orange juice and olive oil.
• Toss asparagus, blue cheese and oranges together and drizzle over dressing.
• Toss gently and sprinkle with salt to taste.

ROASTED BEET SALAD WITH BLUE CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place the beets in a baking pan, drizzle with the oil, and season with salt. Cover with foil. Bake for about 1 hour, or until tender when pierced with a knife.
• In a 1-quart non-reactive saucepan, over medium-high heat, reduce the tangerine juice to about 3/4 cup. Add the lemon juice. Remove from the heat and strain with a fine sieve.
• Return to the saucepan; add lemon juice, salt and pepper. Over medium heat, reduce until the mixture bubbles and has a syrup-like consistency. You should have about 1/4 cup. Remove from the heat and strain again. Let cool to room temperature. Add the olive oil. Set aside. (Can be stored in refrigerator for up to 1 1/2 weeks.)
• When cool enough to handle, peel the beets, and thinly slice them into rounds. Arrange on a serving platter and drizzle with the dressing. In a large bowl, toss the spinach with the remaining dressing and place spinach on top of beets in the center of the platter.
• Remove the wedge of blue cheese from the freezer. Using a microplane grater, grate the desired amount over the salad. Garnish with toasted almonds.

BEET AND DANISH BLUE CHEESE SALAD

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine onion and vinegar. Allow to steep 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.
• Cut beets into French-fry stick shapes, and arrange on a shallow serving dish. Pour onion-vinegar mixture on top, and mix gently. Dot with crumbled blue cheese, and serve.

PICKLED BEET SALAD WITH BACON VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, toss spinach, beets, onion and radishes; set aside. , In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp, stirring occasionally. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels. , Add vinegar, brown sugar, mustard, pepper and salt to bacon drippings; bring to a boil. Drizzle warm dressing over spinach and toss to coat. Sprinkle with cheese and bacon. Serve immediately.

ROASTED BEET AND ASPARAGUS SALAD

Steps:

• The Beets: Wash and dry the beets well. Rub them with the 1 1/2 Tablespoons of olive oil. Place them in a baking pan with 1 ounce of water. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 40 minutes to 1 hour & 15 minutes or until they are fork tender. Allow the beets to cool. Peel off the outer skin and small dice. This should yield about 3 cups. Place the diced beets, blood orange oil and cilantro in a bowl and toss. Season to taste with salt and fresh ground pepper. Reserve in the refrigerator.
• The Asparagus: While the beets are roasting, blanch the asparagus in salted boiling water for about 3 minutes until it is tender and bright green.
• Shock the asparagus in ice water for about 3-5 minutes or until it is cold throughout . Dry the asparagus and chop it into a small dice. This should yield about 3 cups. Reserve in the refrigerator.
• The Dijon Vinaigrette: While the beets are roasting or a couple of days in advance, combine the egg yolk, Dijon, and vinegar in a bowl. With a wire wisk, mix the ingredients well. Slowly in a steady stream, drizzle in the oil to form and emulsion. Add the parsley, chives and shallots. Mix well and season to taste with salt and fresh ground pepper. Reserve in the refrigerator.
• The Moroccan Spice & Almonds: While the beets are roasting, or 1 day before, remove the zest from 1 orange and place in a small oven proof container in the oven to dry out, watching constantly as not to burn it.
• Once the zest is dry allow it to cool. In a coffee grinder, add the cardamom, broken cinnamon stick, allspice & cloves and grind until fine.
• Pour the spices into a small bowl. Grind the dry orange rind in the same fashion and add it to the other spices. Add the sugar and salt and mix well with a fork. Reserve in an airtight container.
• Toast the almonds in a dry saute pan over medium heat on the stove until lightly golden brown. Drizzle the 1 Tablespoon of oil on the almonds and continue to toast for another 30 seconds. Pull the almonds off the heat and pour them evenly onto a cookie sheet. Sprinkle the almonds with about 1 - 1 1/2 Tablespoons of the Moroccan spice and continue to toast in the oven for approximately 1 - 2 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Reserve.
• To Build the Dish: Remove the beets, asparagus, vinaigrette & cheese from the refrigerator 1/2 an hour before serving. Add about 2 - 3 ounces of the Dijon vinaigrette to the asparagus and toss well. Season to taste with salt & pepper. In a round mold or free style, divide the asparagus onto the center of 6 plates. Add a layer of the dressed asparagus on top of the beets. (If you are using a mold, you will need to layer the beets and then the asparagus onto one plate before removing the mold and repeating onto the second plate and so forth.) Toss the field greens in some of the blood orange oil and place some of them onto the asparagus. Place 1 piece of Maytag blue cheese on top of the greens. Sprinkle each plate with the almonds. Garnish each plate with drizzles of Dijon vinaigrette, blood orange oil and chopped chives.

ROASTED FRESH ASPARAGUS, BEETS, AND GOAT CHEESE MEDLEY

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425º F. Wash asparagus and cut off the tougher bottom parts of the stems. (Don't snap the ends as you lose too much of the asparagus). If sizes vary dramatically, slice the largest asparagus stems lengthwise. The asparagus can be chopped uniformly into halves or thirds or left whole.
• Wash and peel beets and slice into small cubes. Place asparagus and beets in a large bowl. Add olive oil, seasoning, and thyme and toss until completely coated.Cover baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange asparagus and beets on the sheet so they are spread out and not overlapping. Use a spatula to gather any remaining oil and seasonings to drizzle over the arranged vegetables. Bake for 15-20 minutes until beets are tender then remove them from the oven. Pile the asparagus and beets into the middle of the baking pan. Add cheese, fruit, and almonds. Bake another 10 minutes.

ASPARAGUS, PICKLED BEETS & BLUE CHEESE SALAD

Steps:

• Boil water for asparagus, add salt.
• Make a ice water bath in a large bowl. You will use to shock the asparagus and halt the cooking.
• Trim tough ends off of asparagus spears, leave whole.
• Place asparagus spears in boiling water. Blanche for 2-3 minutes.
• Quickly remove from hot water and place in ice water bath to shock.
• Prepare onions and pickled beets as suggested.
• Arrange asparagus spears on a platter or individual salad plates.
• Sprinkle and arrange the onion slices, beets and blue cheese.
• Top with a light champagne vinaigrette. I like Girard's brand.

BLUE CHEESE AND ASPARAGUS SALAD

Steps:

• Fill a large bowl with ice water and set aside.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the asparagus and cook until crisp-tender.
• Drain the asparagus and plunge into the ice bath for 1 minute, then drain and set aside.
• Whisk together the orange juice and olive oil.
• Toss the asparagus, blue cheese and oranges together and drizzle over the dressing.
• Toss gently and sprinkle with salt to taste.