Do you ever find you have to use up a lot of produce before it goes bad? I do, and tonight was one of those times. I had spinach, asparagus, strawberries, and some goat cheese begging to be eaten in the next couple of days, and two hungry people wanting dinner.
If you think that list of ingredients sounds like a salad, you’re correct.
Sometimes these things work out really well, don’t they?
To make this, I steamed the asparagus and then sauteed in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I chilled it for a bit afterward, as I wanted to serve everything cold. I tossed it in with the rest of the ingredients: goat cheese, strawberries, and spinach. Then I tossed it with a homemade balsamic vinaigrette. By the way, if you’ve never had strawberries with goat cheese and balsamic vinaigrette, I really recommend trying it. The tart sweetness of the strawberries, the bite of the vinegar and the creamy sweetness of the goat cheese all complement each other very well.
Besides using up seasonal food that was languishing, I’m happy to say that everything except the olive oil I used to saute the asparagus and to make the vinaigrette is local.
To make a vegan version, you could substitute tofu for the goat cheese. I would probably slice it, drain it, and then brown it, but I prefer my tofu browned rather than raw. For a non-veg*n version, you could add smoked salmon, and if you have any spring onions, you could chop them up and add those as well. Because this is such a light dish, it could also serve as a side salad to a main course. Either way, it’s simple, tasty, and used up food that was otherwise going to waste. We even have leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
Happy eating, everyone.
