{eating my veggies} day 2
after the way yesterday’s salad swept me off my feet, i had high expectations for this salad and ended up a bit disappointed. this is not to say this salad was bad, it just wasnt’ as scrumptous as i had hoped it to be. i think perhaps some of the problem was i used too much oil in the dressing which made the asparagus a bit soggy.
directions from article:
4. Shave raw asparagus stalks with a vegetable peeler. Discard the tough first pass of the peeler — i.e., the peel — but do use the tips, whole. Dress with lemon vinaigrette and coarse salt. (Chopped hard-boiled eggs optional but good.)
let’s just start with the whole idea of shaving asparagus – it seemed a bit pretentious to me. i mean, have you ever tried to shave asparagus? it’s not easy. one tip i learned the hard way? do not snap off the tough ends of the asparagus before trying to shave it. instead, you can use the tough end of the vegetable and hold on to it while shaving the rest. i’m not sure if shaving the asparagus has much to do with the taste or just the aesthetics of the dish – it is awfully pretty isn’t it? when i do this again, i would most likely try just cutting the asparagus into strips (proper cooking term = julienne) and see how it works out. i will also take a few seconds to whisk the oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper together to make a proper dressing.
here’s what i used to make a salad for one:
- 8 fresh asparagus spears, tips removed
- squeeze of fresh lemon juice
- drizzle of olive oil – i probably used close to 1 tbsp but it proved too much or i didn’t use enough lemon juice to balance it out.
- sprinkle of salt and fresh ground pepper
- one hard boiled egg (i chose to add this since this was my lunch and i needed a protein)
while this salad didn’t blow me away as i hoped, it was still good and a much better improvement over a usual lunch for me and definitely something i’ll try making again.
