Tuna Salad Nicoise Recipe

If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, you know I try my hardest to get my husband on the healthy, veggie eating bandwagon. He’s pretty good about trying things although sometimes strange colors upset him (he thought purple potatoes, for instance, were just “wrong”). However, knowing that he likes tuna salad sandwiches, I decided to try this recipe for dinner one night. Success! Although he didn’t say he’d ask for this dish again, he cleaned his full plate, which is good enough in my book.

For the ultimate in fresh color to tempt your vision as well as you palate, use different varieties of the base ingredients. I’m not adding specific measurements because with this salad, you only need to pile the ingredients on the plate so use whatever you have or whatever ratio is most delicious to you and your family. The recipe below makes one full plate of hearty salad.

This salad is a feast for the senses and sure to tempt even the pickiest veggie eater.

Tuna Salad Nicoise

Mixed baby greens and/or herbs

1 packet of tuna in olive oil (or 1/4 pound freshly grilled tuna steak)

3 baby potatoes, boiled (use purple, red or yellow or a combo)

1 hardboiled egg, peeled and cut into quarters

1/3 cup kalamata olives, pitted (use a cherry pitter)

1 green onion, white and green parts sliced on the diagonal

Green beans or asparagus spears, cooked and tossed with Italian dressing

4 Baby heirloom tomatoes, halved and tossed with strips of fresh basil

Your favorite oil and vinegar salad dressing

To assemble salad, place greens in center of plate. Top with tuna. Surround salad with remaining ingredients. Grind a bit of black pepper over the top. Drizzle with salad dressing.

October 19, 2011: Cream of Asparagus Soup

If you’re making asparagus as a side dish, don’t throw out the woody stalks. Save them to make this delicious soup, which is a great way to prevent lots of leftovers in your refrigerator from going to waste (feel free to add other veggies such as celery, potatoes, cauliflower, etc.).

Cream of Asparagus Soup

1 T. butter

½ yellow or white onion, coarsely chopped

2 cloves garlic, sliced

1 carrot, peeled and chopped into big chunks

Ends from 1 pound of asparagus, coarsely chopped

2 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 t. sea salt

½ t. black pepper

½ cup heavy cream

Melt the butter over medium heat in a heavy saucepan. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until slightly softened. Add carrot and asparagus and sauté for five more minutes. Add chicken stock and seasonings; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Cook for about 10 – 15 minutes, or until all vegetables are soft. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

When slightly cooled, pour mixture into a blender or food processor. Puree until smooth. Press puree through a fine mesh strainer back into the saucepan. Heat to low and add heavy cream. Cook just until heated through, about 2 minutes.

Makes 2 cups soup.

August 19, 2011: Potatoes, Asparagus and Green Onions Recipe

Here’s another simple, time-saving side dish that goes great with just about any type of protein. For an easy, healthy meal, serve onion-crusted chicken or pork chops with these veggies and a relish tray of olives, carrot sticks, and pickle spears.

Potatoes, Asparagus and Green Onions

1 T. olive oil

2 medium-sized white creamer potatoes

2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly

½ pound asparagus spears, tough ends snapped off

3 green onions, sliced on the bias

1 t. freshly ground black pepper

Juice of half lemon

Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized saucepan to medium. Cut the potatoes into halves, then fourths, then eighths (or sixteenths if they are particularly squat). Add to the saucepan and cook for about 10 minutes, until almost softened. Try not to stir them too often so they don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. 

Cut asparagus spears in half. Add garlic, asparagus, and green onion. Reduce heat slightly and cook for 10 minutes longer. Sprinkle with black pepper and lemon juice. Simmer for another five minutes.

Serves two.

August 3, 2011: Asparagus Pastry Bundles Recipe

Here’s another way to bundle your asparagus (other than these asparagus in prosciutto and crispy asparagus bundles recipes) that looks pretty and tastes yummy. Although asparagus is traditionally a spring vegetable, I’ve found some beautiful spears in the grocery store lately so enjoy them fresh while you still can!

Almost ready to go into the oven - just need a quick spray and a sprinkle of garlic salt.

Asparagus Pastry Bundles

½ lb. asparagus, trimmed of tough ends
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 garlic clove, minced
1 T. lemon juice
½ sheet puff pastry dough, thawed
Cooking spray
Garlic salt, to taste

Mix together cream cheese, parmesan cheese, garlic and lemon juice.

After spreading the cream cheese mixture on the puff pastry dough, place the asparagus spears crosswise over the top.

Grease a cookie sheet. Lay the half sheet of puff pastry on top. Using a small rolling pin, gently roll it out to a thin rectangle approximately 6 x 12 inches. Cut into quarters. Spread cream cheese mixture over each quarter. Lay 12 thin asparagus spears in the middle of each piece of pastry. Fold corners up and over to encase vegetables in a pastry bundle; pinch edges together. Spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with garlic salt. Bake in oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

July 4, 2011: Asparagus in Prosciutto Bundles Recipe

Happy Independence Day! I don’t know about you, but there’s nowhere in the world I would rather live than the United States. Sure, we have our problems (our government being one of the biggest and most intrusive) but it still beats anywhere else in the world. I’m proud of my country and I celebrate our Christian founding fathers who had enough foresight and grit to start this great country. So I hope everyone enjoys this wonderful 4th of July holiday!

Here’s a recipe that makes a great appetizer – perfect for serving guests who are hungry and waiting for the main dishes to come off the grill. It can also be served as a side dish. The combination of salty and sour and somewhat sweet is a real winner.

Asparagus in Prosciutto Bundles

1 pound thin asparagus, tough stems snapped off
4 ounces prosciutto
About 6 teaspoons Dijon mustard
About 6 teaspoons lemon pepper seasoning blend

Tear the prosciutto pieces in half lengthwise. Spread each strip with about ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard and sprinkled with half teaspoon of lemon pepper seasoning.

Place two or three asparagus spears at the end of one prepared prosciutto strip. Wind the strip securely around the spears, leaving each of the ends poking out slightly. Continue with remaining ingredients.

Place on a grill over low heat and cook for a couple minutes on each side, just until the prosciutto begins to crisp.

June 20, 2011: Crumb Topped Roasted Asparagus Recipe

Personally, I love asparagus. But my niece… not so much. I was trying to come up with a recipe I thought she might like and sure enough, I actually got her to try this dish! Don’t get me wrong, asparagus will probably never be her fave veggie, but she did say it was the best version of asparagus she’d ever had and that’s a definite step forward!

Crumb Topped Roasted Asparagus

1 bunch thick asparagus (about 1 pound)
1 T. softened butter
1 T. mayonnaise
1 T. Dijon mustard
1 t. lemon juice
½ cup crushed cornflakes

Trim and peel tough ends of asparagus. Blanch in boiling water for a couple minutes; remove from hot water with a slotted spoon and rinse with cold water.

Combine butter, mayo, mustard and lemon juice. Grease an 8 x 8” square pan and lay asparagus in a single layer in the bottom. Brush the tops with the butter mixture and sprinkled cornflakes over the top. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes, or until crumbs are crispy and asparagus is still a bit crunchy.

April 4, 2011: Jalapeno Hollandaise Sauce Recipe

Here’s one more way you can serve the fresh, seasonal asparagus you’ll find in the grocery store this month – in a traditional manner, using hollandaise sauce, but with a kick – jalapenos!

As I’ve shared before, I did most of my growing up in New Mexico and I simply love anything and everything with a bit of heat from chile. This sauce is actually not very hot, but the little bit of spice makes it taste really special. Poured over freshly steamed asparagus, it makes a very elegant side dish for your Easter dinner – or any meal, for that matter.

These are eggs from my chickens - our smallest hen, Henrietta (yeah, I know, not too creative) lays the biggest eggs, which would be considered extra large if you bought them in the grocery store.

Jalapeno Hollandaise Sauce

3 egg yolks
2 T. lemon juice (fresh is preferred but bottled will work if that’s all you’ve got)
2 T. chopped jalapenos (fresh or canned)
½ t. kosher salt
½ cup butter

Place egg yolks, lemon juice and salt in blender container. Heat butter until it bubbles but does not brown. Cover blender and blend yolks on high for 3 seconds. Remove the lid and pour in the butter with the blender still running, in a very slow stream (otherwise the hot butter will curdle the eggs). Add jalapenos, cover, and blend just until mixed. Serve at once or keep warm by immersing blender container in warm water. Makes 1 cup.

Tip: You can substitute red chile powder or chopped green chiles for the jalapenos, if you prefer.

April 2, 2011: Easter Side Dish – Crispy Asparagus Bundles Recipe

I love looking for cookbooks when I’m out prowling through yard sales. I’ve found some really great old cookbooks – which I really love. One of my favorite finds is The Complete Encyclopedia of Vegetables and Vegetarian Cooking. It is a huge tome filled with information about veggies normal and exotic, plus some truly unusual (both yummy and yucky) recipes.

This recipe is based on one I found in the Vegetable Encyclopedia. It sounds a bit strange, but even my picky husband loves these. I think they would be a great accompaniment to your Easter ham or lamb. Give them a try and tell me what you think.

The photos shows crispy asparagus bundles served with grilled tuna and tomato slices.
Crispy Asparagus Bundles

4 T. butter, divided
2 T. Dijon mustard
1 t. lemon pepper seasoning
8 slices soft bread, wheat or white
1 bunch asparagus (thin or thick, green or white), steamed

Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a small dish; add the mustard and lemon pepper and mix well. Cut the crusts off the bread and brush with the melted butter mixture on one side. Use about 6-8 thin asparagus or 2 thick asparagus spears per bundle; align them along one corner of the buttered bread, placed diagonally. Roll the asparagus up in the bread; use your fingers to shape the bread in an even covering across the vegetables. Place seam side down in a greased baking pan.

Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and brush across the top of the bundles to coat any dry areas of bread.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 12 – 15 minutes, until crispy. Serves 4 - 8.

Tip: For a little extra zing, try adding some grated Parmesan cheese to the butter you use to brush across the tops of the bundles.