Warm Asparagus Bacon and Egg Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette

Stop whatever it is you are doing and grab a pen. You're going to want to mark this day on your calendar. You see, today is the day you are about to discover the best salad in existence in the universe. 

True story. 

Not even exaggerating a little bit. 

Who knew mixing asparagus with a few simple ingredients would result in the best salad ever? Certainly not me. Not until this happened. I've only ever steamed or roasted my asparagus so after looking up some alternative cooking methods I decided to try boiling/blanching it and turning it into a crazy salad. 

Best. Decision. Ever. 

I think this is the perfect meal to welcome spring. It just looks so bright and cheery! 

Warm Asparagus Bacon and Egg Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette

Ingredients

Vinaigrette

1 tsp prepared mustard

1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp red wine vinegar

salt & pepper

Salad

2 cups chopped asparagus

1 egg

2 slices bacon, coarsely chopped (I used "chicken bacon")

1 thin slice of onion

Directions

Prepare vinaigrette - in a small bowl, whisk together mustard, oil, vinegar, and salt & pepper. Set aside. 

Prepare salad - Place a pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. At the same time, place the egg in a small pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. 

When water is boiling in the large pot, drop in the asparagus pieces and boil for 3 to 4 minutes. No longer. Drain and let sit in strainer.

Boil the egg for 6 minutes and then drain water and run under cool water for a minute until cool enough to peel. 

Leave egg and asparagus to sit while you cook the bacon in a small skillet over medium high heat until cooked through and as crispy as you like it. 

Assemble salad - Toss the warm asparagus with half the dressing. Coarsely chop the boiled egg. 

Place asparagus on serving plate and top with the egg, bacon, and onion. Drizzle with the remaining dressing. 

Serve warm. 

The beauty thing about this salad is it can be served warm or cold. Chill the ingredients in the fridge until ready to serve and then simply toss before serving. 

The entire recipe is one serving. According to Myfitnesspal the nutritional counts are: 249 calories, 17 fat, 6 fiber, 12 carbs, 18 protein. I used chicken bacon instead of pork bacon so my calorie count was 10 calories less. 

(FYI - To figure out the calorie count here I used "Costco bacon" which is 80 calories for 2 pieces.) 

Lunch or dinner on the table in under 20 minutes - that's definitely a win!

Be sure to pop over to Carole's Chatter for more tasty links!