This Year’s Best Summer Salad
This recipe for Grilled Asparagus Salad with Basil Vinaigrette has to be one of my favorite summer salads ever. All the green vegetables makes it a healthy lunch or dinner choice. But the real secret to making it onto my “best salad” list is the fresh basil vinaigrette. Oh my it is SO good!
I found the original recipe for this Grilled Asparagus Salad on one of my favorite food blogs, @LivingLou. My version adds extra greens (spinach). I typically use grape tomatoes instead of sun dried, and I usually use blue cheese instead of goat cheese because I LOVE blue cheese.
What’s makes Grilled Asparagus Salad so Good?
First let talk about all the fresh veggies
- Romaine lettuce–Chopped bite size-ish.
- Cucumbers–I like the English variety so I don’t have to peel them or seed them.
- Asparagus–Grilled and cut into pieces. I like the thinner asparagus because grill time is quicker.
- Green onion–I dice up both the green and white parts.
- Red onion–Thinly sliced (optional but a great addition)
- Tomatoes–Either diced grape tomatoes or I often use the sun dried version, also diced.
- Blue cheese (or goat cheese)–I add this right before serving the salad for a little extra punch of flavor. Yum!
For the basil vinaigrette dressing
- Olive oil–Make it a good-quality extra virgin olive oil. I use California Olive Ranch Everyday Extra Virgin Olive Oil. It’s easy to find, it’s reasonably priced and it’s darned tasty. And I love that it’s Made in the USA.
- White wine vinegar–I’ve been known to use rice vinegar and champagne vinegar with good results, too.
- Basil–It MUST be FRESH basil, so NO short cutting here.
- Garlic powder–Use just a smidge.
- Salt–I use Kosher salt.
I mix the dressing ingredients with my handheld stick blender but any blender will do the job.
How to Make Salad with Grilled Asparagus and Basil Vinaigrette
For the Asparagus
- Preheat an outdoor grill or stove top grill pan to medium heat.
- Place asparagus in a large bowl.
- Toss asparagus with olive oil and salt.
- Grill the asparagus for about 6-8 minutes, turning frequently, until charred and fairly soft.
- Let cool.
- Cut asparagus into 1-inch pieces.
For the Salad
- In a large mixing bowl, combine lettuce, spinach, cucumber, onion, avocado, tomatoes, blue/goat cheese and grilled asparagus.
- Add the vinaigrette to the salad bowl. Mix to combine thoroughly.
For the Vinaigrette
- Using a blender or handheld (stick) blender, blend the olive oil, vinegar, basil, garlic powder, and salt.
A few other favorite salads
Grilled Zucchini and Asparagus Salad
Salad with Grilled Asparagus and Basil Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound asparagus
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 head romaine lettuce chopped
- 1 cup spinach chopped
- 1/2 English cucumber diced (or sliced thin)
- 2 green onions thinly sliced (green and white parts)
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion (optional)
- 1 avocado diced
- 1/4 cup grape tomatoes diced (or sundried tomatoes)
- 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese (or goat cheese, or feta cheese)
Basil Vinaigrette
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2-3 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
For the Asparagus
- PREHEAT outdoor grill or stove top grill pan to medium heat.
- PLACE asparagus in a large bowl. TOSS with olive oil and salt.
- GRILL asparagus for about 6-8 minutes, turning frequently, until charred and fairly soft.
- Let COOL.
- CUT asparagus into 1-inch pieces.
For the Salad
- In a large mixing bowl, COMBINE lettuce, spinach, cucumber, onion, avocado, tomatoes, asparagus, and blue/goat cheese.
For the Vinaigrette
- In a blender, BLEND olive oil, vinegar, basil, salt and garlic powder.
- COMBINE with salad to thoroughly coat and SERVE.
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