Shaved Asparagus Salad
Shaved Asparagus Salad- Thin asparagus ribbons are coated in a lemon parmesan dressing for a fresh way to use this classic spring vegetable.
June 3, 2021 by Nicole Collins
I have a random question for you this morning...
And, this question has nothing to do with what we're making today. It's just kind of been on my mind lately.
So here it is...if you won a million dollars, what would you do with it?
Once upon a time, I feel like people could be set for life with a million dollars. But, a million dollars doesn't quite get you as far as it used to these days.
I'm not usually one to enter online contests, but I've been entering the HGTV summer smart home contest daily this year. The prize is a beautiful smart summer home, a new car, and $100k. However if I won the contest, I think I might want to sell the house and use the money to buy a house in the location of my choosing.
Then on the other hand, I've been watching vacation rental reality shows on Netflix. So then I think, maybe I'd sell the car, buy a property in a hot tourist neighborhood, open an air bnb, and make some additional income off the prize money.
Isn't it nice to have big dreams? I know I sure have some outrageous ones sometimes.
I guess for now, I should stick to the more attainable goals. And, that involves making a delicious side dish perfect for any brunch table.
So today, we're making Shaved Asparagus Salad!
This side dish screams spring. We're taking fresh asparagus spears, shaving them into thin ribbons, coating them in a lemony parmesan dressing, and finishing the whole dish with some crunchy pistachios for textures. It's bright. It's fresh. And, it's absolutely delish!
Let's start with the asparagus. What's cool about this salad is that we don't have to cook the asparagus before we work with it. And in my opinion, raw asparagus tastes completely different than cooked asparagus. It has almost a sweet green taste to it, kind of like a raw pea. It's really light and refreshing. So even if you're the biggest asparagus hater in the universe, you have to give this recipe a chance.
Now because we're shaving the asparagus into ribbons, we want to use some of the thicker asparagus spears if we can find them. We're going to use a vegetable peeler to shave the stalks, so the width of our ribbons depends on the width of our asparagus. Besides being easier to shave, the thicker stalks give us a little more oomph and body in our ribbons. So, we definitely don't want those thin, weenie asparagus stalks. Go for the bigger and robust ones.
Next, we're going to make a dressing to coat our beautiful asparagus ribbons. So, we need some olive oil, lemon juice, parmesan, a little mayo to help emulsify the dressing, and some garlic powder and pepper for seasoning. Blend it all together in a small food processor or personal rocket blender, then pour it right over the asparagus, and toss to coat.
To finish our salad, we're going to take some shelled pistachios, give them a rough chop, then sprinkle them all over our beautiful salad. Finish with a pinch of flaky sea salt, and our salad is ready to go!
The salad is so light and refreshing. It's a little sweet. It's a little earthy. It's a little savory. It's a little soft and a little crunchy. It's a real treat. But, it's important to note that this is not one of those recipes that you can prepare in advance. You have to make (or at least wait to dress it) until right before you're ready to serve. The asparagus ribbons are so thin and delicate, the salad will become soggy if you let it sit for a while. But thankfully, you can prepare all of the components separately in advance, and wait to toss everything together until right before you're ready to eat.
This gorgeous salad is the perfect side dish for any brunch table, but it also would also be really nice alongside some grilled protein for lunch or dinner. So, it's super versatile too!
Alright, everyone! I hope you've enjoyed all the brunchin' we've done the past couple of days. Should we keep going or switch gears over to dessert?
Stay tuned to find out!
Until then, enjoy! And, let's eat!
Shaved Asparagus Salad
Serves: 4 Print
Ingredients:
1 lb thick asparagus
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp shredded parmesan
½ tsp mayonnaise
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ + 1/8 tsp pepper
sea salt, to taste
2 tbsp pistachios, shelled and roughly chopped
Directions:
Shave the asparagus: Grab each asparagus spear by both ends, and gently bend to snap off the woody end of the asparagus. Starting at the base and moving towards the top, use a vegetable peeler the shave the asparagus into thin slices. Transfer shaved asparagus to a mixing bowl.
To a personal blender or small food processor, add olive oil, lemon, parmesan, garlic powder, mayonnaise, pepper, and a pinch of salt. Blend until fully combined.
Drizzle dressing over asparagus. Add pistachios, and toss gently to coat. Finish with a pinch of sea salt, to taste. Serve immediately.
Recipe notes:
*If you can find thicker asparagus spears, it's a little easier to shave those. Ultimately, the size of your asparagus strings will depend on the thickness of the spears you start with.
*I find it's easiest to shred the asparagus by laying it flat and positioning it with your cutting board right along the edge of your counter top. This gives the peeler a little room to grab the asparagus.
*You'll reach a point where your vegetable peeler can't grab any more asparagus. Chop the leftovers scraps, and use them in salads, soups, stir frys, or throw them in the freezer to use later.
*This salad is best served fresh. Wait to dress the salad until right before you're going to serve it.
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