Roasted Asparagus Salad with Blue Cheese Vinaigrette

We have the perfect roasted asparagus side dish for your Easter or Passover dinner, and it’s one even the staunchest asparagus detractors will enjoy (or at least try.)

The first thing you’ll need to prep is the vinaigrette – the Hamilton Beach single serve blender is perfect for making dressing. In fact, I have one jar reserved for smoothies and one exclusively for mixing salad dressing.

Roasting the asparagus in olive oil and sea salt dramatically enhances the flavor, but since springtime is finally here, and you’re probably itching to take your meal prep outside. Asparagus tastes great grilled or roasted in foil packets. Either way, the blue cheese vinaigrette is what really makes this salad top notch.

Once the asparagus starts to become tender, place about a dozen spears on individual plates and drizzle with the vinaigrette. Add finishing touches of walnuts, fresh dill and some of the extra blue cheese you have leftover. And don’t forget to bring the blender jar with extra dressing to the table – the travel lid makes it easy to serve. Or you can put it into a fancy dressing decanter, as in the photo below.

This salad is a nice accompaniment to ham, steak or lamb. You could have it as a side dish for your Easter feast or enjoy it as a standalone lunch. Leftovers are equally delicious served cold, and the blue cheese vinaigrette can be used on a garden salad or as veggie dip.

Asparagus Salad with Blue Cheese Vinaigrette

Yield: Serves 8
Author: Hamilton Beach Test Kitchen

Ingredients

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup fresh dill
3 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
2 pounds asparagus, trimmed
Olive oil
Sea salt
Thin blue cheese slices
Toasted chopped walnuts
Fresh dill

Instructions

Place vinegar, dill, mustard, honey, salt and pepper in blender jar.
Cover and pulse a few times, then blend on HIGH for 1 minute, gradually adding oil until mixture is slightly thickened.
Stir blue cheese into the oil mixture until well blended. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Place asparagus in a single layer in a 13×9-inch baking pan. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Roll pan both and forth until asparagus are coated with oil. Bake 20 minutes or until tender-crisp.
Drizzle asparagus with Blue Cheese Vinaigrette Dressing, top with blue cheese slices, toasted walnuts and fresh dill.

Notes

Test Kitchen Tip: Save time by roasting asparagus ahead and refrigerating. They taste great served cold with dressing. Use any leftover dressing on a garden salad.