Another Fine dish! If you have visited City Olive hopefully you have had the opportunity to talk shop with Stephanie. An amazing cook serving up some of the freshest and tastiest dishes using of course, only the Finest ingredients! Here Stephanie shares her Asparagus Salad, a lovely side dish that pairs beautifully with fish.
Chilled Asparagus Salad
6 quarts water
Maldon sea salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
32 stalks small to medium-size green asparagus, washed and ends trimmed
2 lemons, juiced
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
2 tablespoons smooth Dijon mustard
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
I like asparagus al dente, slightly crunchy. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot over
medium heat. Add salt until it tastes like mild seawater. How will you know? Take a little
water with a spoon and taste it, then add the sugar.
Prepare an ice bath by filling a bowl, large enough to hold the asparagus, with cold
water. Add some ice cubes. Plunge the asparagus into the ice bath before cooking. This
will help to bring any limp stalks back to life. Remove from the ice bath, plunge them
into the boiling water and allow them to cook, 2 to 3 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to
remove them from the water, transferring immediately to the same ice bath. Allow
to sit in the ice bath for a few minutes, swirling them gently in the water to assure
they are all cooling quickly in the cold water. Thoroughly pat dry the stalks once they are removed from the ice bath.
Transfer the asparagus to a large plate or platter lined with a kitchen towel and
refrigerate.
In a medium bowl, combine the lemon juice, white wine vinegar, honey and mustard.
Stir to blend. Whisk in the olive oil in an even, steady stream. Taste and adjust the
seasoning, if needed.
When ready to serve, remove the kitchen towel from the asparagus and simply toss the
asparagus in the dressing to coat them completely. Arrange the stalks on plates and
serve. Serves 4-6
