Asparagus ribbons with pickled pink dressing

Servings:

If you’re looking for a delicate salad that takes full advantage of a short local asparagus season, this is it. It’s also an example of the pink-and-green-must-always-be-seen rule for great salad-ing. If your asparagus is a little wilty, trim the ends and then stand it spears-up in a jar of water as you would flowers, and it’ll spring to attention again. This salad will work with a different kind of shallot – it’s just that red is perfect for a really deep pink hue. Chervil doesn’t get enough of a go Down Under, even though it’s got such a marvellously mellow anise flavour, like mild tarragon with a hint of parsley. If you can’t find it, feel free to use picked tarragon leaves or flat-leaf parsley instead.

Ingredients

▢ 1 bunch thick asparagus spears about 450 g (1 lb)

PICKLED PINK DRESSING

▢ ½ tsp sugar
▢ 1 red shallot finely sliced into rings
▢ 2 tsp white wine vinegar
▢ Juice of half a lemon plus extra for squeezing over
▢ 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

FINAL BITS & BOBS

▢ ½ cup loosely packed chervil picked into sprigs

Instructions

Use a speed peeler or mandolin to run along the length of the asparagus spears, creating thin ribbons. Drop into a bowl of cold water until ready to serve.
To make the pickled pink dressing, sprinkle sugar on top of the shallot slices, then pour the vinegar and lemon juice over, stirring about until it starts to change colour. After 5 minutes, scoop out the quickled shallot and reserve, then fork in the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Drain and spin the asparagus to dry, then toss with the shallot and dress with the pickled pink dressing. Top with chervil sprigs and season to taste with more salt and pepper.