Raw Asparagus Salad with Cherry Tomatoes and Parmesan
by meike peters
This is the best (and quickest) spring salad I’ve had so far this year, raw green asparagus with cherry tomatoes, thin slices of young parmesan and a light olive oil and Balsamico vinegar dressing. It combines the best of the season, crunchy, fresh and milky! It was the first time that I ever tried raw asparagus in my kitchen and I was impressed by how good it tastes. I didn’t peel the stems, I just cut the bottoms off and before I started preparing the salad I cut a small piece of asparagus to find out how its texture would feel and taste in my mouth. I expected it to be a bit hard and woody but experienced quite the contrary. The outside felt a bit crunchy but the inside was almost tender. After it passed the test I could continue with the preparations for my first raw asparagus salad!
As a side dish or starter for 4, cut the woody bottom part (around 2 cm / 1″) off of 500g / 1 pound of medium sized green asparagus and rinse the stems. Cut 16 cherry tomatoes in half and mix with the asparagus. For the dressing, whisk 3 tablespoons of olive oil with 1 tablespoon of dark Balsamico and 1 tablespoon of white Balsamico vinegar. Season with salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle over the salad. Slice 70g / 2.5 ounces of young parmesan thinly and arrange on top of the salad.
[…] My Mediterranean version with tomatoes and Parmesan inspired by my mother introduced me to the pleasures of raw asparagus for the first time, followed by a Nordic salad with hardboiled egg, lemon yoghurt dressing and chives. This year, I felt like a fruity take on this dish, thinly sliced green asparagus with honey sweet white peaches, young pecorino and a refreshing dressing made with freshly squeezed orange juice and orange blossom water. Enjoyed with a glass of chilled rosé and a crunchy loaf of rustic French bread I didn’t even mind that the cool temperatures couldn’t keep up with this summery dish. […]
[…] It’s the perfect recipe to feast with your friends, the table filled with plates of crisp asparagus tomato salad, loaves of homemade bread and pink glasses of chilled rosé wine – and the roast right in […]
[…] is another variation on my raw green asparagus salad, I enjoyed it so much that I tried a few others since I wrote about it on the blog last month. This […]
Gorgeous! I have everything on hand, too…
Hi Marigene! First, it felt a bit strange to eat raw green asparagus, I had never tried it before. Last week my mother told me about it and that she likes it a lot, so I decided to give it a try. I’m happy that I did because it’s such a delicious fresh and crunchy salad, I love it!
Have great day, Meike xx