Asparagus Crab Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

I'll tell you what.  This recipe would get published a lot faster if I didn't keep going back to the kitchen for another bite of this delicious salad.  Mine is a little bit warm because the asparagus were hot from the oven when I put it together, but it can be easily made a day ahead of time and served cold.  It's quick to prepare - 15 or 20 minutes total and it's full of flavor and springy ingredients.

ingredients

 

Line a cookie sheet with a piece of foil and turn your oven on to 400.  Give your asparagus a quick rinse, and then chop off the bottom inch or two in order to remove the less tender part of the stalk. Lay your asparagus out on the baking tray and drizzle witholive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and the parmesan cheese, then toss to coat with your fingers. Lay them out evenly and pop them in the oven for 8 minutes.

 

While your asparagus are cooking, make the dressing! In a medium bowl, add the olive oil, minced garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, parsley and salt/pepper. Whisk it up and set it aside. 

 

In a large mixing bowl, place the crab meat and the (drained) artichoke hearts. When the asparagus are done (and not *too* hot to handle) cut them into approximately 1 inch chunks and place them in the mixing bowl as well. Give the vinaigrette one last swirl with the whisk and pour over the ingredients in the bowl. Gently fold everything together to combine the flavors and give it a quick sample to see if you need any additional salt or pepper. (Don't forget - the crab meat will have a bit of salt to add on its own as the crab are cooked in salted water.) 

 

Spoon the salad over a large leaf of romaine lettuce with slices of avocado on the side.  (And perhaps a scoop of rice or quinoa if you're wanting to make this meal stretch a bit more!) Serve with a crisp glass of something bubbly and enjoy!