Arugula, Egg and Asparagus Salad with Creamy Lemon Vinaigrette

Arugula, Egg and Asparagus Salad with Creamy Lemon Vinaigrette is the perfect way to kick off spring!  Peppery arugula, roasted asparagus, soft-boiled eggs and a lively lemon vinaigrette make the perfect side dish salad for a spring evening.

What’s more spring-inspired than eggs?  No Easter or Passover is complete without them.

Arugula, Egg and Asparagus Salad with Creamy Lemon Vinaigrette is the perfect side dish salad or if you add another egg, a hearty main course salad.  Pair it with a smooth and creamy tomato or carrot soup and you’ve got dinner!

But first, we need to cook some eggs!

How to make Arugula, Egg and Asparagus Salad with Creamy Lemon Vinaigrette:

Anyone who has ever eaten an egg knows there are numerous ways to cook one.  If you’re ordering them in a diner, there are a dozen or so ways you could request them.  However, did you know the 100 folds in a chef’s hat represent all the number of ways a chef knows how to cook an egg?

Cooking the eggs for this Arugula, Egg and Asparagus Salad with Creamy Lemon Vinaigrette recipe was a real learning experience for me because I had never done a “soft-boiled” egg before.

I’ve done tons of hard-boiled eggs for deviled eggs and for a tuna salad that is a client favorite.

When it comes to making hard-boiled eggs easy to peel, you’ll find lots of information, tips and old wives tales.

Some recommend not using fresh eggs.  Um.  Bleh.  Who wants less-than-fresh eggs?

Some recommend salt, vinegar or baking soda in the water.  How does the egg know what’s in the water?

How to make easy-peel hard-cooked eggs:

Peeling eggs used to drive me and my mother-in-law crazy until we discovered this trick from Bon Appetit:  If you want eggs that will peel perfectly, you need to start with eggs that are good and cold out of the refrigerator.  Carefully place them into boiling water.  When that membrane between the egg white and the shell hits the boiling water, it will immediately separate from the white and adhere to the shell.  Then, shock in ice water.  Ta-Daaa!  Life-changing egg moment!

When testing for this recipe, I dropped them into boiling water and cooked one for 8 minutes, another for 4 minutes, then yet a third for 6 minutes and 30 seconds.

The third produced this lovely result!  The yolk was “set” around the edges but the interior was still soft, creamy and runny.  Yolk perfection!

Now, not everyone likes a runny yolk so if you boil them for 10-12 minutes, you’ll have a well-set yolk.  Keep in mind that a runny yolk is not appropriate for children, the elderly or anyone else with a less-than-active immune system.

While the eggs are boiling, roast some asparagus…

Mix up the creamy lemon vinaigrette that starts with the goodness of Greek yogurt….

Place arugula on a plate, top with the asparagus and eggs and drizzle with the creamy lemon vinaigrette!

So delicious!  So springy!  And with that… let’s get to the rest of our Progressive Eats menu!

Welcome to Progressive Eats, our virtual version of a Progressive Dinner Party. Each recipe in our menu this month features eggs!

If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, a progressive dinner involves going from house to house, enjoying a different course at each location. With Progressive Eats itís a virtual party. A theme is chosen each month, members share recipes suitable for a delicious meal or party, and you can hop from blog to blog to check them out. Come along and see all of these delicious dishes that feature eggs!

Yield: 4

Arugula, Egg and Asparagus Salad with Creamy Lemon Vinaigrette

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Arugula, Egg and Asparagus Salad with Creamy Lemon Vinaigrette is the perfect way to kick off spring!  Peppery arugula, roasted asparagus, soft-boiled eggs and a lively lemon vinaigrette make the perfect side dish salad for a spring evening.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

• SALAD
• 4 large eggs
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 bunch (approximately 1 pound) thin asparagus, tough ends trimmed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 container (5-ounce) baby arugula
• VINAIGRETTE
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt (preferably full-fat)
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large lemon, zested and juiced
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Cayenne pepper, to taste
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare an ice bath.
2. Bring a small saucepan full of water to a boil. Carefully add the eggs. Cook 6 minutes and 30 seconds or to desired doneness. Transfer to the bowl of ice water. Let stand for 2-3 minutes. Peel and cut in half.
3. Place asparagus on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Roast for 5-6 minutes.
4. VINAIGRETTE: Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl. (It may not look like it's coming together at first, but keep whisking.)
5. TO SERVE: Place arugula on a salad plate. Top with a fourth of the roasted asparagus. Drizzle with some of the vinaigrette. Add two egg halves per plate and serve immediately.

Notes

If you're organized, boiling the eggs, roasting the asparagus and whisking the vinaigrette together can all be done in approximately the same amount of time.

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 434 Total Fat 40g Saturated Fat 7g Trans Fat 0g Unsaturated Fat 32g Cholesterol 187mg Sodium 414mg Carbohydrates 9g Fiber 1g Sugar 7g Protein 10g

The nutritional information above is computer-generated and only an estimate. Please do your own research with the products you're using if you have a serious health issue or are following a specific diet.