'A' for Asparagus, Avocado and Arugula. A to Z Challenge Day 1.

Asparagus, Avocado and Arugula.....

Some my favourites foods start with A. None of them are available in Calcutta except in winter and only in very elusive shops in New Market. In fact, once in Bangalore I saw asparagus in summer and I was so excited, my friend actually bought me some! So the other day, while it was still winter here (now a distant memory) I made that trip to New Market, which is not new at all, and found all the ingredients were available. Now that's a rarity so it set me wondering if there was something that could be cooked up featuring  all three of my favourite  greens!

So I checked online and found a lovely recipe for Triple A (asparagus, apple and avocado) salad. The recipe is at this link: http://www.joyofkosher.com/recipes/triple-a-salad-asparagus-and-apples/, do have a look at it.

And, if you are feeling adventurous, do try out my version!  

AAA Salad

Ingredients:

1. 1/3 cup honey
2. juice of two lemons, about 1/4 cup
3. 1 pod of garlic, minced fine but not ground to a paste.
4. 1/2 tsp dry mustard powder
5. 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
6. 1/2 tsp salt
7. 1/2 cup olive oil (I use extra virgin for salads) 
8. 2 to 3 cups Arugula leaves, washed, torn into bite sized pieces.
9. 1 cup Asparagus, cut into 1 inch slices
10. 1 or 2 Avocado pears peeled and sliced (about a cup)
11. 1/2 cup strawberries, hulled and chopped into biggish pieces
12. 1/2 cup feta cheese
13. 1/2 cup bacon grilled crisp and chopped/crumbled.

Directions: 

1. Combine the honey, lemon juice, garlic, pepper, salt and oil in a glass bowl. 
2. Blend with a hand blender or in a food processor for about 2 minutes until well combined. You can use a salad dressing mixer too, if you want. 
3. Check seasoning and sweetness. You may prefer to add a little honey or lemon. 
4. Place the cut asparagus in a separate bowl and cover with boiling water. Count to ten and then discard the boiling water and immediately fill the bowl with ice-cold water. Wait ten seconds and discard that too. 
5. Place the Arugula leaves in a salad bowl followed by a layer of asparagus, chopped strawberry, avocado and bacon. Add the dressing and toss. Crumble feta cheese over the salad and serve immediately. 

ENJOY! 

DISCLAIMER/NOTE: Why the bacon? Because I love it and believe that it adds flavour to anything from mushroom soup to liver pate, omit it if you want. Or replace it with roasted chopped walnuts! 

All my ingredient measures are approximate. I am sorry but I never seem to have proper measures for anything I cook. A lot of it is by eye, if you know what I mean.... I hope the measures I have given will do the trick!