Easy Weeknight Side: Asparagus and Yellow Pepper Salad

An exciting thing happened last week. I created a side dish that was delicious and was thrown together with everything I already had in my refrigerator! I am not even kidding. It came from my own brain.

I still have a long way to go when it comes to being a chef and so my side dishes are usually pretty uninspiring: roasted veggies, fruit salads, etc. But last week I wanted to try something different and made something I had never tried before. I didn't even base it off of a recipe. This is huge for me, friends. And so I had to share.

Here is my recipe for a delicious, quick, weeknight salad that pairs great with a pasta dish.

Ingredients:

1 yellow bell pepper, cut into strips (this can definitely be a different pepper. Yellow is just what I had on hand)
1/2 pound of asparagus, ends trimmed and cut at a bias into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 cup of pine nuts, toasted
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tablespoon olive oil plus more to coat veggies for cooking
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese, or another deliciously salty, shreddable cheese
salt & pepper to taste

First heat your oven to broil. I think mine was at 500 or so. After prepping all of the veggies, coat them with a bit of olive oil and pop them in the oven. While that cooks make your vinaigrette. To make the dressing combine the lemon juice, olive oil and then add salt and pepper to taste (you could also add a squeeze of honey if you wanted to make it a bit sweeter, but bell peppers are already pretty sweet)

Combine the bell pepper, asparagus, and pine nuts in a bowl and toss with the vinaigrette. Top with cheese and serve!

I served mine alongside some homemade baked manicotti which was divine also. It was a good night in the Lorence house.The buttery-ness of the pine nuts was so lovely with the buttery/saltiness of the parmesan. Yum!

Enjoy!