Let's face it, nobody wants to cook on a super hot day! This delicious summer salad involves zero cooking and tastes phenomenal. This yummy combination of asparagus, grape tomatoes, bell pepper and cheese is perfect for summer!
Hey, ya'll! I'm telling you what, the mercury is rising down here in Florida. There are some days where it's just so stinking hot that you don't want to stand in front of a stove to cook dinner. It's days like this where I love to whip up salads to dinner. When most people think of salads, they think of iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and dressing. But really, the possibilities for salads are endless.
sal·ad- noun- a cold dish of various mixtures of raw or cooked vegetables, usually served with oil, vinegar, or other dressing and sometimes accompanied by meat, fish, or other ingredients.
When you take the definition of salad into consideration, you open your world up to so many more combinations! Some of my family's favorite salads included Crispy Brussels Sprouts Salad, No Mayo Broccoli Salad, Nacho Mama's Taco Salad, Shredded Bliss, Grilled Watermelon & Feta Salad, Loaded Potato Salad, and of course, Redneck Salad. The funny thing is, those salads have almost nothing in common. Their flavor profiles are completely different, and that, my friends, is the wonderful thing about salads.
My family loves asparagus. It seems as though each time my parents house a barbecue, one of us kids will bring an asparagus dish. We typically eat it after it's been oven-roasted in dishes like Oven-Roasted Asparagus with Oranges, Garlic Roasted Asparagus and our favorite, Jacked Up Asparagus. We're all open to trying new ideas, so when my brother brought over a dish featuring raw asparagus, we were all a bit intrigued. Could this possibly be as good as oven-roasted asparagus?
The answer is, heck yes it's delicious! This salad is a bright and colorful combination of asparagus, grape tomatoes, bell pepper, basil, and feta. This salad is absolutely perfect for a barbeque. It goes great with chicken and steak. This salad takes very little prep-work and involves zero cooking so it won't heat up your kitchen, making it the perfect summer salad!
Ingredients: 1 bunch of asparagus 1 small container of cherry tomatoes, cut in half 1 yellow, red, or orange bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 red onion, diced 1 handful of basil leaves, julienned 1/2 cup feta cheese 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil Juice of 1 lime 1 tsp sugar 1 tsp ranch flavoring Salt & Pepper, to taste
Instructions:
1. Snap the woody ends off of the asparagus. Cut the remaining part of the spears into bite-size pieces. Place into a large bowl.
2. Wash the bell pepper, remove the seeds and dice. Add to the asparagus bowl.
3. Dice 1/2 a red onion and add to the bowl.
4. Roll up basil leaves lengthwise and slice thinly/julienne. Add to the bowl.
5. Add feta to the mixture.
6. In a separate small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lime juice, sugar, ranch seasoning, salt, and pepper. Add dressing to the prepared vegetables and mix to combine.
7. Allow the flavors to meld together for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
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