Asparagus and Blue Cheese Salad with Mandarin Oranges
This recipe was inspired by one I found on a blue cheese container. The olive oil was too strong so I reworked the recipe a bit. It is a very refreshing cold salad.
This recipe was inspired by one I found on a blue cheese container. The olive oil was too strong so I reworked the recipe a bit. It is a very refreshing cold salad.
- Carbohydrate 0.324 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 9.0145 g
- Fiber 0.0200000002980232 g
- Protein 0.02 g
- Saturated Fat 1.24462 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (165g)
- Sodium 27.0686666666667 mg
- Sugar 0.303999999701977 g
- Trans Fat 0.25152 g
- Calories 81 calories
Step-by-step
- To trim the asparagus spears, hold in both hands and bend. The ends will break off leaving only the tender spears.
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.
- While your waiting prepare an ice bath by filling a bowl or pot with ice and water leaving enough room for the cooked spears.
- When the water comes to a boil, drop in the spears until just tender, about 1.5 minutes. They should be bright green.
- Drain and plunge into the ice bath for another minute.
- Drain well.
- Meanwhile, whisk togeather the olive oil and about 2 tbsp mandarin juice and 1 tbsp lemon juice with fresh ground pepper.
- Time to taste!
- add more madarin and lemon juice if needed.
- ( when i made this i used about 3 tbsp mandarin juice and 1.5 tbsp of lemon juice).
- When dry cut the asparagus spears into three pieces and toss with the oranges, red onions and blue cheese.
- Drizzle the dressing over the tossed salad and sprinkle with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.
- Enjoy!
Plunge blanched asparagus into an ice bath consisting of a fifty-fifty ratio of ice and cold water for precisely sixty seconds to halt the cooking process and lock in chlorophyll. This brief thermal shock preserves bright color and snap. Extra virgin olive oil can sometimes overpower delicate green vegetables, so emulsifying the oil with a higher proportion of bright citrus juice balances the heaviness. When scaling this dish up for larger gatherings, maintain the acid-to-oil ratio by measuring liquids in tablespoons rather than estimating. Red onions benefit from a prior ten-minute soak in cold water to tame harsh sulfur compounds before combining with dairy and fruit.
Managing Leftovers and Second-Day Storage
Cold vegetable salads undergo textural shifts when stored. Asparagus releases moisture into the dressing over time, while crumbled blue cheese softens as it absorbs free liquids. Consume this dish within twenty-four hours for optimal texture. If storing components ahead, keep the dressing separate from the solids until ten minutes before serving.
- If the asparagus appears dull olive, the ice bath temperature was likely too high.
- Substitute cider vinegar for lemon juice at a 1:1 ratio if citrus is unavailable.
- Store drained mandarin oranges in a sealed glass container for up to two days.
