Fresh Asparagus Salad with Balsamic Dressing

This recipe for Asparagus Salad with Balsamic Dressing is a quick and easy salad that is a perfect showcase for tender spring asparagus

Ingredients 

Here's what you need to make this recipe

• Asparagus - Try to find some with a larger stalk. 
• Shallot - shallot is best, but you could use red onion in its place.
• Garlic 
• Dijon mustard - Dijon mustard has a smoother, yet spicer flavor than yellow mustard, so I recommend it. If necessary you could substitute spicy brown mustard or even good old yellow mustard. 
• Olive Oil - Extra virgin, please. And a good quality one. 
• Fresh Thyme - To easily remove the leaves from a thyme sprig, hold the top of the sprig and run your fingers down the stalk, top to bottom. The leaves should come off easily. If you don't have fresh thyme, you could use fresh tarragon, oregano, or marjoram. 

How to buy and prepare Asparagus 

While asparagus is available year-round, the best come in spring and early summer. Regardless of when you buy them, here are some tips I've learned; when it comes to picking the best asparagus, size doesn't matter at all.  Thinner asparagus comes from new asparagus plantings, the thicker ones come from older crowns.  Both are tender, but I prefer the fat ones. They just have more "meat" on them.

When buying fresh asparagus, look for those with tightly closed heads.  If you notice the heads are starting to open, or the stalks seem to be less than a "plump" pass for another bunch...those are sure signs the asparagus have been sitting for a while.

And did you know that even if they have those bunches all bound together with rubber bands or ties, you can remove some of them if you don't want them all? Yes. While you can't remove a PART of a piece, such as a tough end, you can remove some of the whole stalks. Just leave them and the produce people will repackage it. 

Asparagus is best cooked the day you buy them but can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.  To store, wrap them in a damp (not wet) paper towel and place them in a plastic zip-top bag, or you can set them upright in a jar with 1 inch of water in the bottom and cover the whole thing with a plastic bag.

Asparagus is high in vitamins B6 and C, plus fiber, folate, and glutathione, an anti-carcinogen and antioxidant, making them an excellent nutritional choice.

Preparing Asparagus

When it comes to prepping asparagus, be sure to wash them as there may be dirt in the heads.  You need to remove the bottom of each stalk as that is very fibrous; usually the bottom third, but an easy way to do it is to hold the stalk below the head about midway to the bottom and at the bottom and bend it gently, it will break where the fiber meets the tender.  While not necessary, if you want your stalks to look "neat" take a paring knife and trim the end once you have broken it.  When cooking thick asparagus, I like to use a vegetable peeler to take the scales off.  It looks so neat and tidy; but this is an optional step so if you don't feel like it, then don't do it. It will just take a little longer to cook them to crisp-tender.

The Dressing

The dressing is made from a pretty good amount of Dijon mustard, that is combined with balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil, with the shallot, garlic, and herbs mixed in. It is rather thick, making it a kind of almost dipping sauce, which is perfect for clinging to the asparagus spears. The thick dressing makes this recipe a perfect "finger food" and we all know that it is perfectly ok to eat asparagus with your fingers.  Even Ms. Manners says so.

So whether you eat them with your fingers, or use a knife and fork, this recipe for Asparagus Salad with Balsamic Dressing is a wonderful way to enjoy the asparagus experience!

Or try my recipe for Shaved Asparagus and Fennel Salad, a bright refreshing raw salad.