Spring

Shaved Asparagus and Mint Salad

Name: Shaved Asparagus and Mint Salad
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 bunch asparagus; 1 handful toasted, crushed hazelnuts; 1 tablespoon chopped mint; 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice; 2 tablespoons Sherry vinegar; 1 teaspoon honey; 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; parmesan or pecorino shavings

by: Meatballs&Milkshakes

May 8, 2011

5 Ratings

Serves 4

Jump to Recipe

Author Notes

I wanted to make a raw salad that would be a little different. I also had baby artichokes, but I liked the texture of the raw asparagus better for this.

It also makes fantastic leftovers the next morning, just put a little on top of a buttered, toasted piece of nice bread or brioche and top with a poached or fried egg and a little more of the vinaigrette. - CRS —Meatballs&Milkshakes

Test Kitchen Notes

The bright woodsy flavor of asparagus is sometimes lost once it's cooked -- this salad preserves that flavor and the long ribbons give each bite a wholesome crunch. Get out your best vegetable peeler. It does double duty here: first with the asparagus and next with the parmesan cheese. The hazelnuts echo the richness of the cheese and mint gives the salad a little zing. We like zing! - A&M —The Editors

Test Kitchen-Approved
Your Best Spring Vegetable Recipe Contest Winner

What You'll Need

Ingredients

1 bunch asparagus
1 handful toasted, crushed hazelnuts
1 tablespoon chopped mint
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons Sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
parmesan or pecorino shavings

Directions

Using a vegetable peeler, shave the asparagus lengthwise to create strips. Toss with the hazelnuts and mint.
Whisk together lemon juice, vinegar, honey, and olive oil. Pour over asparagus and mix with salt and pepper to taste. Shave parmegiano or pecorino on top.

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See what other Food52ers are saying.

cindy
sevenfaces
Curt
Ashley Marie
Katherine

I'm an ex-finance, nonprofit fundraiser by day and a (mostly) Italian cook and blogger by night. I love having friends over for dinner and my favorite evenings are when we spend them at home together cooking dinner and chatting. I'm an avid cooking show fan, and my favorite eating cities are New York, San Francisco, Paris, and Rome.

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83 Reviews

cindy July 13, 2018

What kind of peeler do you use? Wish I thought I could use my mandolin.

sevenfaces October 27, 2015

I'd never had raw asparagus so I was excited to try this salad, sadly the flavour is too subtle for me and it all tasted like vinaigrette coated paper ribbons. At least with the asparagus I can find in my local shops, I will continue to enjoy them cooked.

emcsull June 1, 2015

is a bunch a pound, or so ?

Curt May 10, 2015

Great recipe! Added shaved Asian pear to add another texture dimension and added a more definitive contrast to the woody asparagus.

joann November 6, 2014

Super dish! It surprised everyone really, and the compliments kept coming. Loved the vinegarette too... everything was perfect! Great way to serve a veggy side that doesn't seem like a side.

Ashley M. April 20, 2014

Ok, I was totally skeptical about eating RAW asparagus and this BLEW my socks off! Subbed pine nuts for the hazelnuts and champagne vinegar for the sherry vinegar (for lack of finding it last minute) and it was stellar. Wonderful. Thank you :)

gillianknitsalot February 14, 2014

This was AMAZING!!! Can't wait to make it again!

Meatballs&Milkshakes February 18, 2014

Glad you enjoyed it!

Katherine January 28, 2014

Great recipe! Loved loved loved it! Some changes: We couldn't find our peeler so we sliced our asparagus in short diagonal pieces. Only used blanched raw hazelnuts. Plus, we didn't have sherry vinegar so we substituted it with rice wine vinegar. All in all, it was absolutely delish! Will make it again, hopefully next time we can follow the recipe down to a t!

LizTerry January 1, 2014

Loved this! I didn't know you could eat raw asparagus. We added thin sliced dried figs and prosciutto. Lovely starter salad for our New Year's Eve dinner.

emcsull April 18, 2013

I find it next to impossible to shave the heads, I gotta say. It will still be wonderful, I am sure.

1natalplum July 9, 2012

I saw this and ran right out and bought asparagus. I used mgreentv5's suggestion for the sherry vinegar and subbed sliced almonds because my hazelnuts smelled freezerish. Hubby's away so I halved the recipe and devoured it all for my meatless Monday dinner. I love this so much, I will plant Sweet Purple asparagus next spring--purple outside, pale green inside, higher sugar content and lower lignin makes it especially great raw. Can't wait--thanks!

Meatballs&Milkshakes July 12, 2012

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!

MaureenOnTheCape June 19, 2012

I love to transform vegetables that I like into something completely different. It would be tough to realize these shavings are actually asparagus. It is really a unique dish. Unfortunately my local grocery store did not have sherry vinegar, so after searching the internet for substitutes, I used 1 TBL. red wine vinegar and 1 TBL. sherry and it was delicious. I will make this again and again. Thank you Meatballs&Milkshakes!

Meatballs&Milkshakes June 19, 2012

glad you liked it!

lisina June 12, 2012

LOVED IT! I tossed in a few edamame too. Such a beautiful green dish!

TheLearningCook June 12, 2012

This was really good, it was just kind of a pain to shave the asparagus.

SandraK May 29, 2012

Made this with a few minor alterations...added arugula as a background flavour and to extend the salad a bit and I had lovely purple chive flowers to add some variety of colour. Definitely well received.

Sandra
http://www.torontobites.net/?p=3292

fosterOR April 8, 2012

This is briliiant! So simple, fresh and easy for anyone to do with or without deep cooking skill. I know. Made this for a group dinner and was uncharacteristically treated like a culinary hero. This recipe should win a contest-oh yeah, it did. :-) Thank you!

Meatballs&Milkshakes April 9, 2012

Glad you enjoyed it!!

fosterOR April 8, 2012

This is briliant! So simple, fresh and easy for anyone to do with or without deep cooking skill. I know. Made this for a group dinner and was uncharacteristically treated like a culinary hero. This recipe should win a contest-oh yeah, it did. :-) Thank you!

deensiebat March 14, 2012

Just made this for a fancy dinner for a friend. So good! To fancy it up I used a bit of truffled cheese instead, which worked really well against the bright flavors of the salad.

Ms. T. March 10, 2012

Mmm...just picked up some of the season's first asparagus from the farmer's market and am excited to give this a try for a party tomorrow. Do you think it's okay to shave the asparagus a few hours in advance? Also, do you include the asparagus heads in the salad?

Meatballs&Milkshakes March 10, 2012

Yes, definitely include the heads, they look pretty. Make sure to shave from the stem end to the head. I would say yes, you can shave it in advance but be aware that it will get a little more limp and the moisture in the asparagus will start to come out. I don't mind it that way personally, and I usually like leftovers the next day just as much as the original salad.

Ms. T. March 10, 2012

Great, thanks! I'm going to use your recipe as a jumping off point, but will improvise a bit, since I have some preserved Meyer lemons I'd like to incorporate. Thanks for the inspiration!

Ms. T. March 15, 2012

I created a spin-off of your recipe, with a preserved Meyer lemon dressing and thinly sliced watermelon radishes. It came out great--thanks for sharing your brilliant idea! Next time, I will try your recipe as written because it looks delicious, as is. Photos of my version here:
http://stillsimmering.wordpress.com/2012/03/15/they-say-its-spring-a-celebratory-salad/

cindy July 13, 2018

Beautiful presentation. Is there a way to save your recipe to Food52?

SRoca June 20, 2011

Delicious. A boat-load of work to shave the asparagus, but really very tasty. Thanks so much for the recipe.

Meatballs&Milkshakes December 2, 2011

I actually find that I get into a groove with it and it's not so bad...just make sure to hold from the thick stem end and don't worry about using the bottom inch.