Summertime Grilled Salad
By Kate Vaynshteyn (www.babaganosh.org)
We don’t know about you, but firing up the grill for a summer backyard barbecue with friends and family is one of our absolute favorite things in the whole entire world. The joy of having everyone together, outside, enjoying a beautiful day and delicious food simply cannot be beaten. Especially after the year we all just went through, cookouts are going to be especially sweet this year.
At our barbecues, we like to have plenty of options available; from activities, drinks, and especially the food. That means veggie burgers, hotdogs, chicken, and all variety of side dishes from salad, baked beans, and corn are must-haves. But, if you are like us and really like to introduce fun variety into your grilling and use fresh, seasonal ingredients be sure to give this grilled salad a try this summer!
Grilled salad may seem like a strange recipe at first. Like, wouldn’t salad get wilty and mushy if its on the grill? Never fear though, this “salad” doesn’t have any lettuce in need of grilling and is simply a combination of grill-friendly asparagus with delicious Randall Great Northern Beans, red onion, and a zesty homemade dressing. When grilled, asparagus softens slightly, but retains a great crunch and smoky flavor when charred, making it one of the best vegetables to grill with alongside others like corn and Portobello mushrooms.
While the asparagus grills, don’t forget to start working on the show-stealer: the dressing. This simple combination of garlic, lemon juice, salt, pepper, honey, lemon zest, and other common herbs and spices in your pantry brings a bright acidity to balance out the smokiness of the freshly grilled asparagus and help cut the bite of the red onion. Tying it all together, of course, is the smooth creaminess of our great northern beans.
Mix it all together and viola, you have the perfect summertime grilled salad, with inspiration and flavors of the season. If you want even more grilled ingredients, we also recommend grilling up a couple of sausage links to serve alongside. They are the perfect meat pairing for this salad recipe.
So, next time you fire up the grill make sure you save some space next to your burgers and hotdogs for some fresh asparagus so you can whip up this simple and easy-to-make grilled salad for you barbecue.
Ingredients
- 4 uncooked sausage links
- 1 lb. asparagus, ends trimmed and discarded
- 1 1/3 cups Randall Great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed
- ¼ red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 oz. Parmesan cheese, grated or thinly shaved
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 3 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp. lemon zest
- 1 Tbsp. honey
- 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp sea salt, or to taste
- ½ tsp black pepper, or to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the grill to 300F.
- Place the sausage links and the trimmed asparagus on the grill. Place the asparagus across the grill grates and not along the grill grates to make sure it does not fall through. After 7-8 minutes on the grill, flip the sausages and carefully nudge the asparagus so it rolls over and the other side. Continue to grill for another 5-8 minutes, or until the asparagus is cooked to your liking and the sausage is fully cooked. Set aside and allow to cool for a few minutes.
- Prepare the dressing: in a small bowl or jar, combine the minced garlic with the next 9 ingredients (through the black pepper). Stir or shake to combine. Add more salt or lemon juice, if desired.
- Chop the grilled asparagus into 1-2 inch pieces.
- In a large bowl, combine the drained Great Northern Beans, sliced red onion, chopped asparagus, and shaved Parmesan. Add 2-3 tablespoons of dressing, or more as needed, and mix well. Serve with grilled sausage. Leftover dressing will keep in the fridge for up to 1 week.
