When the first day that truly feels like spring arrives — as it did yesterday —  I’m likely to wander around wondering what to cook that feels like spring.  If Dave’s in on the conversation, he’ll be talking grill while I’ll be dreaming salad.  And not only will Dave be talking grill, he’ll be thinking hamburgers.  As I rarely eat hamburgers unless he cooks them at home, I jumped in the car and ran to the store for low-fat ground beef and whole wheat buns.

Today, just so you appreciate Colorado weather, is thirty-something with snow and winds gusting at 50 miles per hour. I can’t see beyond the yard. The photo below was of yesterday’s blue skies and grilling weather.

By the time 6 o’clock came around, both the burgers and a new potato salad were done.

The salad I came up with involved a quick oven-roasting of red potatoes while I sautéed beautiful spring asparagus, mushrooms, and onions on top of the stove. A bit of acid in the way of both red wine vinegar and lemon juice perked up the vegetables and no mayo was needed.  If you want you could add a little hot or Dijon-style mustard, but I think it was lovely as is.  This would also be a perfect side for grilled salmon or chops.  Try it:

roasted red potato-asparagus salad with mushrooms and sweet onion

6-8 servings

• 2 pounds red potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces (10-12 small or 6 cups)
• Olive Oil
• Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
• Herbes de Provence
• 1 pound (about 2 cups) asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 8 ounces sliced button mushrooms
• 1 medium sweet onion, sliced
• Crushed red pepper
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  On a large, rimmed baking sheet, drizzle the potatoes with about two tablespoons olive oil and season generously with salt, pepper, and 2 teaspoons Herbes de Provence or a mixture of thyme, basil, or oregano. Roast potatoes 20-25 minutes or until browned and crispy.

Meanwhile, sauté asparagus, mushrooms, and onions in a tablespoon of olive oil, seasoned with a pinch each of crushed red pepper. salt and pepper.  Cook until just softening, about 10 minutes.

Mix the roasted potatoes and  the cooked vegetables together in a large bowl.  Drizzle with the vinegar, lemon juice, a tablespoon of olive oil, and season with a bit more salt and pepper–perhaps 1/8 teaspoon each. Stir gently, but thoroughly. Taste and readjust seasonings, including olive oil, if needed.  Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

{printable recipe}

Cook’s Notes: 1. You could certainly grill the ingredients for this salad if it’s too warm to turn on the oven.  2. You might sub half of the potatoes with sweet potatoes if that sounds good to you. 3. Want to do this all in the oven? It works wonderfully well.  Start with the potatoes only on one side of sheet pan; add the mushrooms, onions, and asparagus on the other side about half way through the cooking time.  Add dressing..or not.

2-Dog Kitchen:

Sing a new song,

Alyce