As promised, a Red and Green Salad. This is ALL IN. Holiday veggies galore. This is very simple to prepare because who needs another time-consuming task when there is shopping, cooking and decorating zapping your energy? The recipe may look like it has a lot of steps but it is worth it. Just take it one step at a time you and you will end up with a beautiful presentation that has plenty of WOW factor. Just look at my new pics!! So much fun to take on my deck in 20 degree weather!
All you need to do is buy some perfect asparagus. Ask the kind person in the produce section to open a new box for you. Try to find some that are close to the same size so the wreath will look gorgeous. They should not be too thin, nor overly large as those will be tough.
The wreath will be far more attractive if you take 15 minutes or so to peel the asparagus. It isn’t hard. Trust me. Sorry to bother you with such a boring task but this step will make the difference! And the holidays come only once a year so you have to step it up a bit.
Once the asparagus are blanched and shocked in cold water, arrange the asparagus like spokes around a wheel, leaving the center free for the beautiful, sweet roasted tomatoes.
Roasting the tomatoes is quick. All you do in put the little grape tomatoes in a bowl with a bit of olive oil and shake them until they are coated. A quick trip to a very hot oven gives the tomatoes a concentrated flavor that the raws ones just can’t muster.
Once the tomatoes are out of the oven they get a nice bath in sun-dried tomato pesto and voila! There you have it. A bowl turned upside down in the center of your decorative platter will serve as the placeholder for the tomatoes and allow you to evenly fan out the asparagus. Once the asparagus is all lined up, you remove the bowl and pile the tomatoes in the center.
When it is time to serve the wreath, it is best to serve the Sherry Vinaigrette for the asparagus on the side so everyone can dress their own asparagus at the last minute. TIP AND TRICK: Any vinegar dressing tends to turn asparagus (and broccoli for that matter) an unattractive shade of grey so, do yourself a favor and stay green. Everything will look a whole lot more appetizing and festive.
I hope you find this salad as tasty as it is decorative.
Festive Asparagus Wreath with Juicy Roasted Tomatoes
This makes an absolutely beautiful salad for a holiday meal. With the asparagus fanned out in a circle to simulate a wreath and the glistening roasted tomatoes coated with sun-dried tomato pesto, this is a sight to behold!
Ingredients
For the Asparagus
- 1-1/2 pounds asparagus
- 4 tablespoons Kosher salt
For the Sherry Vinaigrette
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 4 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- 1/3 cup white balsamic vinegar I prefer Trader Joe's
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 cup olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
For the Roasted Tomatoes
- 2 packages grape tomatoes 10 ounces each
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
For the Sun-dried Tomato Pesto
- 2 cloves garlic
- 5 large sun dried tomatoes buy the soft, pliable kind, not the one's that are hard as stone
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano rubbed between your fingers to release the oils
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 8 large basil leaves cut into a fine chiffonade
Instructions
Asparagus
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First, bring a large pot of water to a boil with 4 T. Kosher salt. While the water is coming to a boil, peel the asparagus. To do so, place one asparagus stalk at a time on a counter or board horizontally and peel it with a wide peeler. You peel one piece off at a time beginning in the middle of the stalk and working downward to the root end, rolling the asparagus as you pull down on the peeler so that each side of the asparagus gets peeled as you turn it.
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Once the asparagus is all peeled, line the bottoms up evenly and cut away about 2 inches on the diagonal so the stalks at the bottom are not tough. All of the spears should be the same length.
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Fill a large bowl with ice water and add at least 10 ice cubes. Set aside.
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Drop the asparagus all at once in the pot of boiling water and cook for exactly two minutes. Immediately drain the asparagus and toss them into the ice water bath to shock them. Once they are cold, dry them in paper towels and, at this point, you can refrigerate them overnight wrapped in paper towels and plastic wrap. Be careful not to damage the tops so they look perfectly intact on the wreath.
Roasted Tomatoes
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Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
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Put the olive oil, tomatoes, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl and shake them around until they are coated.
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Line a 9"x13" baking pan with parchment paper or foil. Put the tomatoes in the pan and spread them around so they are not touching, if possible. Set the bowl aside.
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Roast the tomatoes on the bottom shelf of the oven for 10 minutes. Open the oven door, give the pan a shake, and roast them for 10 more minutes. They should not be flat and deflated but rather, they should still hold their shape.
Sun-dried Tomato Pesto
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In a small food processor, process the garlic and sun-dried tomatoes until they are finely chopped.
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Add all of the rest of the ingredients and put the pesto in the mixing bowl you used to coat the tomatoes.
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Add the hot, roasted tomatoes to the mixing bowl and toss them gently in the pesto.
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When ready to serve, put a small to medium size bowl upside down on a round serving platter. Place the the asparagus in spoke fashion around the bowl. Remove the bowl and gently arrange the roasted tomatoes in the center. Garnish the tomatoes with the basil and serve the Sherry Vinaigrette on the side for the asparagus.
Next post, another red and green recipe. My favorite salsa. Not really part of a holiday table but it is red and green and would make a great option for a quick appetizer (mini fish tacos anyone?).