This fresh spring salad is packed with the best produce this season has to offer: asparagus, snap peas, radishes and mint, finished with creamy goat cheese for a little tang and a bright lemon-y dressing. Consider it your sign to hit the farmers’ market before the season ends!
Equipment
Here’s everything you need to make my asparagus salad with creamy goat cheese:
- mandolin
- chef’s knife
- cutting board
- medium pot
- small bowl or jar
Get the full ingredients list and instructions below!
Cooking Tips
- If you don’t have a mandolin, just cut the radishes with a sharp chef’s knife as thin as possible, without being too fussy! It’s a little more work but totally worth it for that crisp, bitter bite.
- Not really a cooking tip, but I highly suggest serving on a large, shallow plate rather than a deep bowl. This will ensure you get a little bit of everything in each bite without all the good stuff falling to the bottom, or worse — not getting coat in dressing.
- Not sure how to tell what’s edible on a stalk of asparagus? The quickest way to do it is by look and feel — the woody end tens to be lighter in colour, almost white or grey, and a tougher texture. Hold the spear and bend it near the bottom, where it naturally breaks tends to be where the tender part meets the fibrous part. A good experiment is to take it a step further with a quick taste: Do the snap test, then take a bite out of each part — this will help you better identify where the good part ends and the bad part begins. To save time, only do the snap test on one spear, then line up the bundle and trim the remaining pieces in line with the first one.
- Serve it with… panko-crusted salmon or spiced chicken with fingerling potatoes.
Ingredients
Method
- Using a mandolin, thinly slice 5 radishes on the lowest setting. Next, trim and discard 300g snap pea ends, and slice in half length-wise. Break off and discard the tough ends of 1 lbs asparagus, then cut the remaining stalks into bite-sized pieces, about 1-inch long.
- Bring a medium pot of water to boil and season with 3 tbsp of salt. Once boiling, add asparagus and turn off the heat. Let the asparagus cook in the hot water, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes, or until bright green and tender. Drain and rinse with cold water until cool to the touch, then dry with a clean dish towel.
- In a small bowl, whisk together 1 tbsp mustard, 1 tbsp honey, 2 tbsp red wine vinegar and 6 tbsp olive oil until emulsified season with a pinch of salt and lots of cracked black pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Add a drizzle of honey-dijon vinaigrette to the bottom of a shallow serving tray. Top with 1/2 the radishes, peas, asparagus and goat cheese. Repeat layers with remaining ingredients, then finish with mint leaves and the rest of the dressing. Serve immediately.