Have you ever eaten in one of those trendy, bistro style restaurants and wished you could make the same amazing salad at home? Now you can! I always go for the “full meal in a bowl” salads with chicken or fish, vegetables, cheese, nuts and fruit. I’m often surprised how well ingredients such as these, with nearly opposite flavors and textures, compliment one another and fit together perfectly. Each summer (or spring) I create recipes to feature our homegrown fresh vegetables in Garden-to-Table posts. Since we recently started harvesting our homegrown asparagus, I thought this would be a great time to combine a hearty salad with my favorite spring vegetable in a Salmon Asparagus Salad – from our Garden to Table.
We planted asparagus three years ago and each season it grows stronger and multiplies. They say a good asparagus garden can last up to 20 years but that you should let it get well established before picking. Some recommend waiting two or three seasons before hitting it hard. Now that we reached the third season, we often check the asparagus in the morning because on a good warm, sunny day, it can grow big enough to pick by dinner. A super productive asparagus garden may need picked twice a day during peak season. Asparagus is loaded with B vitamins, vitamin C, calcium, and iron making it an amazing super vegetable for your table.
The salmon is seasoned with salt and pepper and broiled to form a nice tender crust. Once cooled the salmon is divided into large bowls atop assorted greens. The salad is finished with lightly steamed fresh (homegrown) asparagus, crumbled feta cheese, dried cranberries, cherry or grape tomatoes and a handful of walnuts. A homemade Lemon Vinagrette is drizzled on top and before you know it, you have your own restaurant quality salad … at home!
- For the Vinaigrette:
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- ¼ cup lemon juice (about 2 juicy lemons)
- 2 tablespoons minced shallot (1/2 a small shallot)
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1½ teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1½ teaspoons honey
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon thyme leaves
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- for the salad:
- ½ pound wild caught salmon fillet, skin on
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- salt and fresh ground pepper
- 4 - 6 cups assorted lettuce and wild greens
- 12-14 stalks fresh asparagus, tough ends removed, cut into 1-inch pieces
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup halved cherry or grape tomatoes
- ¼ cup walnuts
- ⅓ cup crumbled feta cheese
- To prepare the vinaigrette, combine all ingredients and whisk together until combined. Set aside at room temperature while preparing the salad.
- Preheat the oven to Boil. Coat the salmon fillets in 1 teaspoon olive oil, on both sides. Season the salmon with salt and pepper. Heat an oven proof skillet on medium and place the salmon in the skillet, skin side down. Cook for 3-4 minutes then turn and cook another 2-3 minutes. Turn the fillet back over so the skin side is down and place under the broiler. Broil until the salmon is cooked through and crispy brown on top.
- Remove the salmon from the oven and transfer to a clean plate. Cool while preparing the salad.
- Place the asparagus pieces in the top of a steamer basket. Bring to a boil and steam, with the lid on, for 2-3 minutes or until the asparagus is bright green. Remove from the heat and run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain on paper towels before adding to the salad.
- Fill two large bowl with the greens. Divide the salmon and asparagus between the two bowls and finish with all remaining ingredients. Season with fresh ground pepper if desired. Drizzle with the lemon vinaigrette and serve immediately.
Hope you had a lovely weekend. I’m heading back out to the garden to weed my herb and flower box. We can’t wait for tomatoes, zucchini and yellow squash to grow. Stay turned for more asparagus recipes coming soon. Thanks so much for stopping by!
Tricia
It s the new trend!! – Breakfast in a bowl- meals in a bowl- 🙂 LOVE this dish and LOVE your photos Tricia- Hope you have a great weekend! 🙂
Thank you – hope you have a great one too. I bet the wedding is in full swing planning mode now 🙂
I am speechless as I am so busy drooling. Sometimes I find wild asparagus on our walks by the canal. This seems so perfect to welcome spring, Tricia!
Aww thank you so much Abbe! Wild asparagus sounds fabulous. Take some pictures!
I didn’t know any of that about asparagus, especially that it grows so fast during a day! This is a gorgeous salad, Tricia, wish I could sit right down and enjoy it with you!
I want to do a time lapse photo of it growing. Wish you were here 🙂
That would be such fun!
Salmon and asparagus are wonderful together, aren’t they? And lemon makes the whole dish complete. Love salads like this — really good job with this one. Thanks.
Thank you John – this is one that I will make again and again!
The perfect spring lunch. Wonderful!
Amalia
xo
Thank you Amalia – hope you are enjoying a lovely spring!
OH MY TRICIA!!!! I will HAVE TO try this!!! I like these kinds of salads too ! 😉
Wonderful Becky 🙂 Hope you love it too!
What a beautiful plate !
So rich in colors..an artists’s palette:)
Monique – you’re the artist and a very good one too. Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting!
What a perfect salad! I love salmon and so many flavours with it 🙂 I am jealous of your asparagus crop, too! Nothing is growing here yet, in fact, there is snow in the forecast for tonight. Crazy!!
Hope your spring vegetables arrive soon Jennifer. We’re off to pick strawberries this morning. Summer must not be far behind 🙂
Tricia – you clearly have a wonderful garden and I know you have an amazing table! I also love a meal in a bowl, too, and this is just the kind of well-rounded bowl I love. Can’t believe you are using your own asparagus and it just looks wonderful with all the fresh greens. Adding salmon (and walnuts) is just the richness I need. I’m in the habit of including some grains in my bowls. I like to really stuff myself! ; )
It’s a small garden Monica but it’s more than enough for us to take care of. We used to plant way more than we needed and had trouble giving it all away – crazy people 🙁 Tomatoes get out of hand quickly! I agree about hearty salads and meals in a bowl – I like to feel full!
Hi Tricia, what a showstopper you created, all my favorite ingredients too, love this!
Thank you Cheri!
Oh, I would love to have asparagus in my garden, Tricia! I do have a farm nearby though so I consider myself lucky that I can go and pick it.
Asparagus and salmon are such a perfect combo and this salad is something I could make 3 times a week all summer long. The dressing is so perfect with it!
Thank you Robyn – we love to visit the “pick your own” farms and are heading out this morning to pick strawberries. Maybe another salad with strawberries is in our future 🙂 Thanks!
wow homegrown asparagus!! I am so impressed, Tricia. This salad looks fabulous!
Thanks so much Angie!
Looks delicious Tricia. I had something very similar in a restaurant the other day and really enjoyed it.
I love these kind of restaurant salads Larry – thanks for stopping by!
You lucky dog! We’re just starting a garden this year but I really want an asparagus bed so bad. The problem is I want it now. But I’ll take your example and try to be patient. In the meantime I’ll run to the store for asparagus to make this fabulous salad. It’s so fresh, vibrant and pretty. And healthy, such a win-win-win-win!
We adore our garden Chris – and can’t wait for tomatoes too. We have a large compost bin that we use year round. In spring we incorporate the rich new dirt into our raised beds, then start over again in the compost box. So glad the asparagus is growing – we love it!
Mmmmmmm!! Salmon and asparagus!! I’ll make this for supper one evening this week! I’ve been thinking about adding asparagus to my tiny garden. I suppose it would do well in a raised bed?
Hi Shelia – it has been a long time! Hope you are doing well. We have our asparagus in a raised bed and it is doing fine 🙂 Enjoy and good luck!
What a lovely salad! The add-ins look so good, and it all looks so healthy. I’d love to eat that for dinner tonight!
Thanks Beth – we enjoyed it with gusto! After working in the garden getting it ready to plant, we were ready for something filling and hearty.
I am so jealous that you grow your own asparagus, that’s amazing! And this salad looks so good, hearty yet still plenty healthy!
We love healthy and hearty! Thanks Sara
I am impressed that you are growing your own asparagus. Your salad looks fabulous and I will make it soon since I love asparagus and salmon. Have you ever tried white asparagus?
Asparagus is pretty easy once it gets established. Mulch and compost and pick it often – that’s about it! Not too hard. I have not tried white asparagus – does it taste like the green variety?
White asparagus tastes different , it has a more delicate flavor. It has to be peeled otherwise it is stringy. The way white asparagus is grow is that it is covered with mulch and plastic so that no sunlight reaches the spears. This way the vegetable never gets a chance to turn green because no photosynthesis takes place.
I love eating white asparagus .
I am intrigued Gerline! White asparagus sounds almost like mushrooms – I’m going to have to give it a try!