Spanish Asparagus Salad With Orange and Manchego Cheese

Submitted by COOKGIRl

"I added the manchego cheese. I couldn't help it. If you cannot find good quality fresh asparagus I suggest Trader Joe's frozen asparagus tips for this recipe. Use the best olive oil you can find (most expensive doesn't always indicate the best quality). From Vegetarian: Best Ever Recipe Collection."

 

• Ready In: 15mins
• Ingredients: 12
• Serves: 3-4

ingredients

• 1 cup fresh asparagus spear (or use equivalent amount of frozen asparagus spears, thawed to room temperature)
• 2 medium oranges
• 1⁄2 cup red onion, sliced and cut into crescents
• 2 tomatoes, ripe but firm, cut into eighths
• 3 cups romaine leaves, chopped into narrow strips
• 2 ounces manchego cheese, for garnish (optional)

• Salad Dressing

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sherry wine vinegar
• 1⁄2 orange, zest of, finely minced
• 1 tablespoon reserved orange juice
• salt
• fresh ground black pepper

directions

1. In large pot of lightly salted boiling water blanch the asparagus spears until green, about 2-3 minutes but no longer. Immediately drain and rinse with cold water to halt the cooking process.
2. Peel the oranges and cut up into bite-size segments. Save one half of one orange for juicing and zesting.
3. In a non-reactive small bowl, combine the olive oil, vinegar, orange zest and 1 tablespoon of orange juice. Season with salt and pepper. Whisk together and set aside.
4. In a large salad bowl combine the cooked asparagus, red onion, orange segments, tomatoes, and lettuce. Just before serving, pour the dressing over the salad and mix gently to coat.
5. Add shaved manchego to each salad serving if desired.
6. Serve with crusty bread.

Reviews

[LifeIsGood]

What a fun, different and delicious salad. I love the salad dressing combination and will be using that often. The salad ingredients were wonderful, too. I enjoyed having the asparagus right on top of the salad (I cut mine up a bit). Made for ZWT8 Spain. Thanks!

 

[morgainegeiser]

This was great, we loved the fact it had asparagus and the combination with oranges, tomatoes and red onion made it a wonderful salad. The dressing was great, too. Made for ZWT5.

 

[breezermom]

The surprising combination of flavors is amazing. I had always associated oranges in salads with a sesame oil based dressing....asian flavored. But this combination of the oranges and the red onion is wonderful. The end result is an amazingly fresh tasting salad. To top it off, it is absolutely beautiful on the table. Thanks so much for posting! Made for ZWT5 Challenge.

 

[Sageca]

Lovely combination of ingredients. First time I made a salad dressing with orange juice and was really surprised.I served this for WT5 with a Spanish Portuguese theme. I was very impressed and will make this one again.Thanks for posting. Rita

 

[Kumquat the Cats fr]

Wow, outstanding. Used less olive oil, and included manchego cheese. Very pretty salad and very tasty. Got some great photos, you won't be displeased with the taste or the looks. Great for company. Served with a Spanish Tortilla recipe#371121. Yummy.