Asparagus Sesame Salad Recipes

SESAME ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Trim tough ends from asparagus spears. Set spears aside.
• Heat a 10-inch cast-iron skillet for about 2 minutes over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon peanut oil and half of the asparagus in a single layer.
• Cook for 3 to 4 minutes without turning. Shake pan occasionally. Turn, and cook 3 minutes more. Asparagus should be bright green with brown spots.
• Add 1 tablespoon shallots and half the sesame seeds, and cook, shaking the pan to toss asparagus, for 1 to 2 minutes or until shallots are transparent. Do not let them burn.
• Add half the soy sauce, sesame oil, and pepper, and cook 30 seconds. Transfer to a plate, and keep warm. Repeat with remaining asparagus. Keep warm until ready to serve.

SESAME BEEF & ASPARAGUS SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat broiler. Place steak on a broiler pan. Broil 2-3 in. from heat until meat reaches desired doneness (for medium-rare, a thermometer should read 135°), 6-7 minutes per side. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing., In a large saucepan, bring 1/2 in. water to a boil. Add asparagus; cook, uncovered, just until crisp-tender, 3-5 minutes. Drain and cool. , Mix soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar and ginger; toss with beef and asparagus. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. If desired, serve over lettuce with carrot, radishes, cilantro and lime wedges.

SESAME ASPARAGUS SALAD

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine asparagus and water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 4-8 minutes or until asparagus is crisp-tender. Drain. Place asparagus in a large bowl and chill. Just before serving, add romaine, onion and pimientos. In a small bowl, whisk sesame seeds, lemon juice, oil, pepper, basil and salt; pour over salad and toss.

ASPARAGUS SPEARS WITH SESAME

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame oil, white wine vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar. Set aside.
• Prepare an ice bath: Fill a large bowl halfway with ice cubes and add some cold water. Place a colander squarely inside the ice bath. The colander will keep you from having to pick the asparagus out from amongst the ice cubes in the ice bath.
• Add salt until the boiling water tastes like seawater. Add the asparagus to the boiling water and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes - you want them to be crunchy. If the asparagus are thin, cook for only 1 minute. Remove the asparagus from the water with a strainer and transfer them to the colander inside the ice bath. Allow them to cool completely for a few minutes and then place them on a kitchen towel to drain any excess moisture.
• Toss the asparagus, sesame seeds, and the sauce together and refrigerate for 1 hour, or until ready to serve.

ASPARAGUS SALAD, JAPANESE-STYLE

Steps:

• Cut off the woodsy bottoms of the asparagus spears; discard. Cut off the flower ends and set aside.
• Use a vegetable peeler to remove the dark green outer skin of each spear; you should get three or four ribbons from each one. Set aside. Cut the remaining stalks crosswise into 1/4-inch rounds. Combine ribbons, sliced rounds and tips in a bowl.
• Toast the sesame seeds in a small dry skillet over medium-heat, shaking occasionally until they color and begin to pop, but remove from heat before they burn. Combine the seeds with sesame oil, rice vinegar, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Taste and adjust as necessary. Spoon over the asparagus and toss gently.

GRILLED SOY-SESAME ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Preheat grill for high heat.
• In a bowl, mix sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, and brown sugar. Place asparagus in the bowl, and toss to coat.
• Lightly oil a fine-mesh grill grate. Place asparagus on grate, and cook 8 minutes, until tender but firm. Garnish with sesame seeds to serve.

LEMON-SESAME ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Place the asparagus in a large pot filled with water 1 inch deep. Bring to a boil, and cook until tender, but still bright green. This will take about 5 minutes, or longer if your asparagus spears are thick. Drain and place on a serving dish.
• Meanwhile, melt the margarine or butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the sesame seeds, and cook, stirring frequently, until they are golden brown and toasted, about 2 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and parsley; season to taste with salt and pepper.
• To serve, pour sauce over the cooked asparagus.

SHAVED ASPARAGUS SALAD WITH GINGER AND SESAME

Steps:

• Make the dressing: In a small bowl, stir together rice vinegar, ginger, garlic and brown sugar. Add jalapeño and sesame oil, then season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Snap or cut off the tough bottoms of each asparagus spear. With a vegetable peeler, peel each tough-skinned spear, starting halfway down from tip and peeling toward bottom end.
• Cut the asparagus at a long diagonal into very thin slices (not paper thin - about the width of a thinly sliced onion). Place asparagus slices in a wide salad bowl. Season with salt and pepper and toss lightly. Add the ginger dressing and toss to coat well. Taste and adjust. Add scallions and lime juice and toss again.
• Garnish with mint leaves and cilantro sprigs. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

CHILLED ASPARAGUS WITH SESAME VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Cook asparagus in large skillet of boiling salted water until just crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Drain. Rinse with cold water and drain well. Pat dry with paper towels. Arrange on platter. Mix sesame oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce and sugar in small bowl. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper. (Asparagus and dressing can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover separately and refrigerate.) Spoon dressing over asparagus. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

SESAME ASPARAGUS WITH GARLIC

Steps:

• Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
• Snap off tough ends of asparagus.
• Place asparagus and 1/4 cup water in an 11 x 7 inch baking dish.
• Microwave at high 3 minutes or until tender, drain, pour the vinegar mixture over asparagus, toss well.
• Serve at room temperature or chilled.
• Sprinkle with sesame seed, if desired.

ASPARAGUS & COURGETTE SALAD WITH FETA & SESAME SEEDS

Steps:

• Heat a small frying pan and add the sesame seeds. Cook, shaking the pan and making sure the seeds don't burn. When they are fragrant and have turned a light teak colour, tip them onto a saucer.
• Steam the asparagus for 3-4 mins until almost done. Drop into a bowl of iced water to cool, then drain and wrap in a tea towel to dry really well. Cook the peas for 3 mins in the boiling water used to steam the asparagus, then drain and cool under a cold tap. Slice the courgettes on the diagonal, about 0.5cm thick.
• Heat a griddle pan until very hot. Brush the asparagus and courgette slices with the oil, and cook in batches until nicely striped with dark brown. Cut the asparagus into 5cm lengths.
• Mix the asparagus, courgettes, peas, rocket, feta and lemon zest. Grind over some black pepper and sprinkle with the sesame seeds before serving.

ASPARAGUS WITH SESAME OIL VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Boil the asparagus in a large quantity of water for 3 to 5 minutes, depending on thickness, then drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking. Dry thoroughly. Combine the garlic, salt, pepper, mustard and lemon juice in a bowl and whisk to blend. Whisk in the sesame oil. Pour over the asparagus, toss and serve.

SESAME ASPARAGUS AND TOFU

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon soy sauce, mustard, sesame oil, vinegar, and chives. Bring a large stockpot of water to boil. Blanch asparagus just until tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a colander, and rinse under cold water. Set aside.
• Pour sesame seeds onto a small plate. Place remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce and tofu in a medium bowl. Turn tofu in soy sauce to coat; let sit 30 seconds. Remove a baton; dip one side in sesame seeds. Transfer to a clean plate. Repeat with remaining batons.
• Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Coat with cooking spray. Arrange tofu, with sesame seeds down, in pan. Cook until golden brown on the bottoms, about 5 minutes. Brown remaining sides, about 2 minutes per side; remove from skillet.
• In a large bowl, toss the asparagus in vinaigrette. Divide the asparagus and tofu among four plates, and drizzle with any remaining vinaigrette. Serve.