I tried a new combo of an old standby earlier this week–chicken and veggies.  It’s a common food theme at our house.  This try was Cooking Light’s Chicken Scaloppine with Sugar Snap Pea, Asparagus, and Lemon Salad. 

Pretty, right?  Well, the chicken was good with a nice broth and wine sauce that made things a tiny bit different from the traditional salt/pepper combo.  It wasn’t earth-shattering though.  Just a good piece of chicken.

The veggies, however, were great.  Even if I didn’t have the right veggies.  Still great.  I used frozen edamame beans that I let sit out a bit to thaw and chopped asparagus as recommended in the original recipe.  Green beans (frozen or fresh) would work as a substitute for the snap peas, too.  We just didn’t have any of those.  So my version looked a bit more like this:

At least pre-sauce, it looked exactly like that.  And the recipe went a bit like this:

Edamame with Asparagus and Minty Citrusy Goodness

Ingredients

• 3 cups julienne-cut trimmed sugar snap peas (about 1 pound) or whole edamame beans or any kind of green beans
• 2 cups (1-inch sliced) asparagus (about 1 pound)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
• 2 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preparation

1. Steam edamame and asparagus, covered, 4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Rinse pea mixture with cold water; drain.
2. Combine salt, mint, oil, rind, and juice, stirring well with a whisk. Drizzle oil mixture over pea mixture; toss gently to coat.

Look at that, done in two steps!  The dressing is just enough to make you notice that these are more than simple steamed veggies.  It isn’t overpowering at all, which citrus and mint can be if left to their own devices.  It’s just fresh and a little bit fun, which is my favorite combo for summer food.  (Well, except for fattening and carb-filled, which is really my favorite food combo.  Mac and cheese with a good hot dog, anyone?)