Greek Style Asparagus Salad

A lemony dressing mingles with crisp asparagus, black olives, and feta cheese in this Greek Asparagus Salad, a recipe that is perfect for spring.

One of the true signs of spring, asparagus is the first fresh veggie we get to enjoy at the beginning of the growing season. The crisp stalks and bright color get us so excited for the coming season full of fresh veggies.

How To Choose Asparagus

When selecting asparagus, choose firm, straight, that are bright in color and have tightly-closed tips. Dull color, limp stalks, or dry ends are a tell-tale sigh of asparagus that is anything but fresh.

Choosing stalks that are similarly uniform in thickness will insure they all cook at the same rate. And remember, bigger is not better. Thick stalks are more mature, and have a more robust texture and stronger flavor, while thin stalks are younger and will be more tender and sweet.

If you can, store the asparagus upright in a jar with an inch of water at the bottom. Or, wrap the ends in a damp paper towel before wrapping the stalks in a plastic bag. Store the spears in the refrigerator for two to three days.

How To Prepare Asparagus

The important thing to remember about asparagus is that their stalks can have a woody base. If you don't get rid of this tough section, you might end up with chunks of tough, nasty asparagus in your finished dish.

We get rid of the woody section right after washing our asparagus. You begin by holding one asparagus spear with one hand at the cut end and one near the middle of the stalk. Then, bend it gently. This will cause the tough, woody end to snap right off.

The woody section is the plant's reaction to cutting, so the fresher the asparagus, the smaller the woody portion will be.

Making Our Greek Asparagus Salad

There are many ways to cook asparagus, including blanching, roasting, sauteing, and grilling.

For this Greek Asparagus Salad we lightly steamed the asparagus until the color was a vibrant green. This gives the spears a little more tenderness, while still keeping their fresh crispness. And, it lets them show off their color in the salad.

To the asparagus we add a light lemon and herb dressing as well as classic Greek ingredients like olives, feta cheese, tomatoes, and red onions.

This salad is the perfect taste of spring!

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Greek Style Asparagus Salad

A lemony dressing mingles with crisp asparagus, black olives, and feta cheese in this Greek Asparagus Salad.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time5 minutes mins

Total Time20 minutes mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Greek-American

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 110kcal

Author: Sarah | Curious Cuisiniere

Ingredients

For the Salad

• 1 lb asparagus, woody ends removed
• 1 Roma tomato, diced
• ½ c black or kalamata olives, sliced
• ¼ red onion, sliced and quartered
• 1 oz feta cheese, crumbled

For the Dressing

• ½ small lemon, zested and juiced (roughly 1 tablespoon juice)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon oregano
• ¼ teaspoon marjoram
• ¼ teaspoon basil
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

• Chop the asparagus into 1 inch pieces. Place the pieces in a small saucepan or steamer basket with ¼ cup of water. Steam for 1-2 minutes, until brightly colored and still crisp. Immediately, plunge the asparagus into a cold water bath to stop them from cooking any further. Drain the asparagus and pat dry.
• Place the drained asparagus in a large bowl with the diced tomato, olives, and red onion.
• In a small bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss to coat. (The salad can be made ahead of time up to this point and refrigerated for up to 12 hours to let the flavors come together.)
• Before serving, sprinkle the salad with crumbled feta cheese.

Nutrition

Calories: 110kcal | Carbohydrates: 10.4g | Protein: 4.5g | Fat: 7.1g | Saturated Fat: 1.9g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 532mg | Fiber: 4.1g | Sugar: 4.3g

More spring picnic recipes from favorite bloggers:

Appetizers:

• Caprese Skewers by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Crisp Cucumber Salsa with Southwest Style Chips by Momma's Meals
• Mediterranean Spiced Hummus by Take A Bite Out of Boca

Main Dishes:

• Avocado Sriracha Egg Salad by Rants From My Crazy Kitchen
• Spanish tortilla by Caroline's Cooking

Soups and Salads:

• Broccoli Salad with Bacon and Dried Cranberries by Food Done Light
• Smoked Turkey Salad by Our Good Life
• Spinach Salad with Apples & Pecans in an Apple Balsamic Vinaigrette by Carrie's Experimental Kitchen

Desserts:

• Lemon Yuzu Cookies by NinjaBaker.com
• Mini Lemon Chess Pies by Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen

Sarah - Curious Cuisiniere

Sarah founded Curious in 2010 as a way to save her recipe creations and share culinary experiences. Her love for cultural cuisines was instilled early by her French Canadian Grandmother. Her experience in the kitchen and in recipe development comes from over 10 years working in professional kitchens. She has traveled extensively and enjoys bringing the flavors of her travels back to create easy-to-make recipes.

www.curiouscuisiniere.com/about/