My Garden Salad: Arugula & Asparagus

There is nothing more disappointing than ordering a meal that comes w/ a "garden salad".

Sorry, but a garden salad usually means: iceberg lettuce with unripe tomatoes, cucumbers, some red onion and a gross dressing. Skip it.

But while reading the Sunday NY Times this weekend, David Tanis talked about a spring romance with a garden salad, and not the freebie kind that comes with the entree, but a fresh spring salad made with local asparagus and arugula with some prosciutto and good Parm thrown in.

Hey, I can do that.

It was lunchtime, and I had all the components to make this lovely seasonal salad. So I got to work.

Fresh asparagus is so good eaten raw and even better when it is shaved into thin strips. A special treat.

I picked a few things here and there, and used my handy dandy vegetable peeler and lunch was eaten outside in the beautiful sunshine. Ah, I love spring.

Happy Monday.

Spring Garden Salad (from the NY Times):

a few asparagus spears, shaved with a vegetable peeler
a bunch of arugula
shaved pieces of Parimigiano Reggiano
juice of a lemon
sea salt & pepper
good fruity olive oil
slices of prosciutto (optional)

1. Snap off and discard the tough ends of the asparagus. Using a mandoline, sharp vegetable peeler or thin-bladed knife, slice the asparagus lengthwise into paper-thin ribbons.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and olive oil to make a dressing. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Place the asparagus ribbons in a shallow salad bowl. Season lightly with salt and pepper and coat with half the dressing. Add the arugula, tossing gently to distribute the asparagus. Drizzle with the remaining dressing.

4. With a vegetable peeler, shave thin curls of Parmesan over the salad. Accompany with a platter of sliced prosciutto, if desired.

Sit back and enjoy!

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