I’ve been taking full advantage of asparagus season, my fridge is constantly stocked with those tender thin stalks. Besides just roasting them, which is a given, I’ve been putting them into frittatas, risottos, pasta dishes, tarts and a ton of salads.
In this salad today the asparagus is really the star. You give them a really quick roast to get them out of the raw state, slice them in half lengthwise, then gently toss into a hunk of honey infused goat cheese which has been loosened up a bit with a fresh lemon and olive oil dressing. Honestly, you could stop right there it’s that good!
But continue on please because we’re making a salad today.
For the other ingredients you’ll want to build your salad around what’s in season, and being that its spring here I used a mixture of red leaf lettuce and a little arugula for spiciness, crispy radishes, fresh peas and fava beans, I added in some raw zucchini ribbons because I love the look and taste it gives to a salad, plus crunchy toasted hazelnuts.
Layer everything together rustic style onto a nice big platter and spoon more of the lemon and olive oil dressing all over.
For a special finish to this salad add generous shavings of Parmigiano Reggiano, it’s a must!
- 1 bunch of asparagus,on the thin side but thick enough to cut in half lengthwise.
- 1 cup fresh peas, or frozen and defrosted
- ½ cup of cooked and prepped fava beans, you could use frozen defrosted lima beans
- 5 radishes, thinly sliced
- 2 medium raw zucchini made into ribbons with a vegetable peeler, (no seeds)
- ½ bunch of red leaf lettuce chopped bite size and a generous handful of arugula mixed together or combination of salad greens of your choice
- 4 oz. of chevre goat cheese, I used the one with honey
- the zest of one lemon, you can cut up a few slices for garnish after
- ½ cup of toasted hazelnuts, slightly cracked open
- shaved Parmigiano Reggiano for top of salad
- extra lemons for dressing
- olive oil
- Roast your asparagus on a sheet pan drizzled with olive oil for maybe 5 or 10 minutes on 375 just until the raw taste is gone, you don't want limp asparagus they should still have a good bite to them, so keep checking. Cool them off and them slice them lengthwise.
- Make a lemon and olive oil dressing using 2 parts fresh lemon juice to 4 parts olive oil.
- In a bowl mash up your goat cheese and loosen it up with 2 tablespoons of the lemon dressing.
- Gently toss and coat sliced asparagus into the mixture, adding salt and pepper to taste.
- On a large platter assemble the greens, peas, fava beans, radishes, zucchini ribbons all over ending with the goat cheese coated asparagus on top.
- Sprinkle the toasted nuts all around.
- Spoon lemon dressing all around, as much as you think you need.
- Add shavings of Parmiggiano Reggiano on top.
- Garnish with a few lemon slices.
I’m Marie, a wife, mother, mother-in-law, and gramma of two beautiful girls. My passion is food, clear and simple but especially Italian food, hence the name of my blog, Proud Italian Cook. I want you to feel right at home here so grab a cup of coffee, I’ll get the pastries, take a look around and enjoy your visit! {
