Today is the first day of Spring. Are you as happy about it as I am? I look forward to the sunny days, birds singing and beautiful flowers to blossom. And let’s not forget the great, fresh spring food. Therefore, I made a light, fresh and healthy dish. I made a herb vinaigrette asparagus salad.
This salad is all you need to feel happy on a Spring day. A mix of fresh herbs and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice bring out the best of these thick asparagus spears. When I was creating this dish, I wasn’t sure it would turn out so fantastic and tasty. It is so easy to make, but at the same time very rich in flavour.
To make herb vinaigrette asparagus salad it will take you less than 30 minutes. In fact, you can serve this gorgeous dish in only 20 minutes. How great is that?!
Asparagus are an amazing spring vegetable. Green, purple or white; I love them all. As I said many times, not only they taste good, but they are healthy as well. They are rich in fibre and they contain a lot of vitamins. Moreover, asparagus are a great choice for those of you trying to stay on a diet or for the ones who have to keep an eye on their blood sugar. You can combine them with meat, fruits, fish, pasta or egg.
Regarding the vinaigrette, it is just delicious and it requires only a few fresh ingredients. To tell you the truth, sometimes you should just keep it simple to get the best out of it. You will love this herb vinaigrette and you will ask for more. Just imagine fresh chives, onion and strawberries taking a bath in a sweet-sour dressing. Wow!
Try to use this vinaigrette or make your own for any other salad as well.
Ingredients for 2 portions of herb vinaigrette asparagus salad:
- 1 egg (boiled, chopped)
- 700 g asparagus
- 1 lemon (juice and zest)
- 1 small red onion (finely chopped)
- 2 strawberries (finely chopped)
- chives (finely chopped)
- garden cress
- 2 tsp of sugar (1 ½ in the cooking water, ½ in the vinaigrette)
- olive oil
- 1 Tbsp apple vinegar
- salt and pepper
Boil the egg for about 8 minutes. You need a hard-boiled egg. In the meantime, wash, clean, peel and trim the asparagus. I usually peel only the white ones, because they tend to be thicker and with harder skin. The younger they are the less you need to peel. Most importantly, cut off the wooden part at the bottom of each asparagus.
Furthermore, place the asparagus in a pot, cover them with water, add the sugar and the lemon peel. I peel the lemon with a potato peeler in order to avoid the white, bitter skin. Simmer for about 8 minutes.
While the egg is boiling and the asparagus are simmering, finely chop the onion and add it to a small pan together with some olive oil. Quickly sauté it for 2 minutes. When chopping and dicing, try to make all the vinaigrette’s ingredients more or less of the same size. Then, chop the chives and dice the strawberries.
Herb Vinaigrette
In a small bowl, mix lemon juice, chives, onion, garden cress and strawberries. Then add 3 Tbsp of cooking water (from where the asparagus are cooking), half a teaspoon of sugar, a pinch of salt, some olive oil and one spoon of vinegar. Mix to combine and set on a side.
Once the egg is boiled, cool it under cold water and then peel it. Dice the egg into small cubes as well. Furthermore, drain the asparagus and place them on a serving plate. Now pour the delicious vinaigrette over them and sprinkle with some garden cress and the egg.
Herb vinaigrette asparagus salad is an amazing brunch, lunch or supper idea. You can serve it either as a main dish or as a side dish. Moreover, it tastes wonderful either cold or warm. It could be a great side dish for Easter as well (even though Easter is still one month away).
Enjoy and happy Spring!
PS:
If you like the recipe, if you make the recipe or if you have any new ideas how to improve or change it, let me know in the comments section below or alternatively share your photos and reactions with me on Instagram (@Passionspoon), Facebook or Twitter (@PassionSpoon1). Simply use the hashtag #passionspoonrecipes in your posts. I would love to see them! (wink)
