Asparagus salad
This salad is a French classic stripped to essentials: asparagus, egg and vinaigrette. Everything rests on two things — blanching to exactly the point where the spear is firm, and an ice bath that stops the cooking and locks in the bright green.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Blanching the asparagus 8 min
- Hard-boiled eggs 10 min
- Vinaigrette 5 min
- Assembling 5 min
Step by step
0 / 7 doneSnap off the woody ends
Hold a spear at both ends and bend it until it snaps by itself. It breaks roughly where the woody part begins — a quick, simple method, though it sometimes takes a little of the tender part with it. Peel the lower part of thick spears.
Ingredients: 700 g green asparagus · 1 tbsp salt · 2000 ml water
The spear itself shows the line between tender and stringy.Blanch in heavily salted water
Bring the water to the boil with a tablespoon of salt — it should taste distinctly salty. Add the asparagus and cook 3–4 minutes for medium spears, 2 minutes for thin ones. They should stay firm: a knife meets slight resistance.
Ingredients: 700 g green asparagus · 1 tbsp salt · 2000 ml water
TipDo not skimp on salt. The asparagus cooks so briefly that this is the only chance to season it all the way through.
Shock in ice water
Move the spears straight into a bowl of iced water. The iced water stops the cooking at once, so the spears stay firm and vivid green. Without this step they keep cooking in their own heat and turn grey.
Ingredients: 700 g green asparagus · 1 tbsp salt · 2000 ml water
Straight from boiling water into ice — the colour stays vivid.Hard-boil the eggs
Lower the eggs into boiling water and cook for 9 minutes — the yolk should be set but not chalky. Chill in ice water and peel. An undercooked yolk will not grate, and an overcooked one turns dry and grey-green at the edges.
Ingredients: 3 pcs eggs · ½ bunch chives · 40 g almonds
Make a shallot vinaigrette
Mix the chopped shallot with the vinegar and leave for 5 minutes — the acid tames its bite. Add the mustard, salt and pepper, then pour in the oil in a thin stream, whisking hard until the vinaigrette thickens.
Ingredients: 5 tbsp olive oil · 2 tbsp wine vinegar · 2 tsp mustard · 1 pcs shallot · ½ tsp salt · ½ tsp pepper
TipMustard is the emulsifier. Without it the vinaigrette separates within a minute.
Grate the egg over the top
Pat the asparagus dry and lay it parallel on a platter. Pour over the vinaigrette, then grate the eggs on a coarse grater straight over the salad. Grated egg distributes evenly and clings to the spears better than chopped.
Ingredients: 3 pcs eggs · ½ bunch chives · 40 g almonds
A grater instead of a knife — the egg blankets the spears like snow.Finish and serve
Scatter chives and toasted flaked almonds. Serve at room temperature — chilled asparagus loses its aroma and the vinaigrette stiffens.
Ingredients: 3 pcs eggs · ½ bunch chives · 40 g almonds
Before you start
White asparagus
White spears must be peeled all over and cooked 8–10 minutes. They are more delicate and suit a vinaigrette with a little sugar added.
Ahead of time
Blanched asparagus keeps a day in the fridge. Make the vinaigrette and eggs fresh — grated egg dries out quickly.
Grilled instead of blanched
Toss the spears in oil and grill for 4 minutes. The smoky flavour works well with the mustard vinaigrette, though the colour is darker.
