Fresh NW: Potato and Asparagus Salad

What’s fresh right now in Puget Sound right now? Surprisingly, there are some very tasty choices for the locavore in all of us! I was pleased to discover that two hearty favorites are in seasons now, potatoes and asparagus. Feeling foodie challenged, I decided to see if there was some way to create an appetizing dish that combines the two items. After scouring my cookbooks and favorite food links, I hit upon the idea of combining the two into a salad. This is the type of satisfying food that the whole family will enjoy!

New Potato and Asparagus Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of asparagus
• 12-15 small New Potato’s, uniformly sized if possible
• 1 bunch of cooking greens (rainbow chard, chard, or spinach) ripped into large bite sized shreds. (The shredding seals in the flavor and you want large sized pieces as they will reduce when they cook).
• 1 head of garlic, diced or mashed.
• ½ of a small red pepper (mild, sweet or hot to your preference), finely sliced.
• Dash of salt & pepper
• 2 tablespoons of butter, 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• Dash of lemon juice
• Your favorite vinaigrette salad dressing

Directions:

1. Scrub and boil potatoes, with their skin on, in a covered pot, with a dash of salt, until they begin to turn tender when pierced with a fork – about 15-20 minutes. When done, drain and set aside.
2. While the potatoes cook, steam some asparagus in a separate pan, or lightly sauté them with a few tablespoons of water. You want them to be crisp when finished, not limp. Drain, slice into bite sized portions and put into the salad bowl.
3. Return the empty pan that the potatoes cooked in to medium heat. Add the drained potatoes, let them heat for a few minutes to remove excess moisture.
4. Then add the butter and olive oil, heat until butter melts. Add a dash of salt and pepper.
5. Add the garlic and red pepper. Saute about 5 minutes until the garlic changes color slightly.
6. Add the greens, sauté until they wilt. Add more salt and pepper as needed to taste.
7. Remove from heat, turn out into salad bowl.
8. Toss with lemon juice and vinaigrette – serve warm. Enjoy!