White Bean-and-Asparagus Salad

Prep: 20 min., Cook: 4 min., Chill: 1 hr. After cooking the asparagus, this is practically a dump-and-stir recipe.

Yield: Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1/2  pound  fresh asparagus, trimmed
• 7  dried tomatoes
• 1  garlic clove, minced
• 1  tablespoon  brown sugar
• 2  tablespoons  extra-virgin olive oil
• 2  tablespoons  white wine vinegar
• 1  tablespoon  water
• 1  teaspoon  spicy brown mustard
• 1/4  teaspoon  dried rubbed sage
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  pepper
• 1  (19-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4  cup  chopped red onion
• 2  teaspoons  drained capers
• 1  (5-ounce) bag gourmet mixed salad greens
• 1  tablespoon  shredded Parmesan cheese

Preparation

Snap off tough ends of asparagus; arrange asparagus and dried tomatoes in a steamer basket over boiling water. Cover and steam 2 to 4 minutes or until asparagus is crisp-tender. Set tomatoes aside. Plunge asparagus into ice water to stop the cooking process; drain. Cut asparagus into 1-inch pieces, and chill until ready to use. Chop tomatoes.

Whisk together garlic and next 8 ingredients in a medium bowl; add asparagus, tomatoes, beans, onion, and capers, tossing to coat. Cover and chill 1 hour. Serve asparagus mixture over salad greens; sprinkle with cheese.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

127 (39% from fat)

Fat:

5.5g (sat 1g,mono 3.6g,poly 0.8g)

Protein:

4.8g

Carbohydrate:

15.3g

Fiber:

4.4g

Cholesterol:

1.3mg

Iron:

2mg

Sodium:

351mg

Calcium:

61mg