Crisp asparagus, salty nutty parmesan, crunchy pistachio, peppery radish, sweet-tart apples, and a rich, complex Balsamic Vinaigrette make this a sophisticated, rich, dynamic dish. In my experience, asparagus gets cooked to mush far too often. It’s a beautiful, mild veggie to eat raw and keeping it raw lets the ingredient shine – look no further for your go-to Spring asparagus recipe!
Shaved Asparagus is a salad we’ll build right on the plate. The beauty of this, beyond creating a gorgeous piece of art on the plate, is you can play around with the ratios of the ingredients. I have kept the measurements generic because this is not a science! Use however much of each ingredient you want to eat – don’t overthink it!
Notes for Shaved Asparagus Salad
- Use whatever apples you have on hand, but can’t beat a Honeycrisp for this recipe.
- The mildly sweet, vegetal flavor of asparagus screams Spring and adds a tender but crisp texture. You could also roast your asparagus for this salad if you like.
- As always, feel free to mix and match – if you don’t have pistachios, try almonds or walnuts! Play around with ingredients that YOU like to eat!
Shaved Asparagus Salad
Ingredients
- Asparagus, ends trimmed
- Apple
- Radish
- Pistachio
- Parmesan Cheese
- A light drizzle of Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- How you prepare and serve this dish is up to you – have fun with it. I like to use a peeler to shave the Asparagus and Apple, thinly slice the Radish to get circles of color, shave the parmesan for big, salty bites, and drizzle the Balsamic Vinaigrette over.
- You could totally just dice all the ingredients, mix them up in a bowl and call it a day. Decisions like these are up to the person making the dish – don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise!
- Since we are drizzling a dressing over and not coating the ingredients with it, we want a nice pinch of salt and pepper to season the final dish with. A light spritz of olive oil or lemon juice before seasoning will help the salt and pepper stick.
- Enjoy!