Shaved asparagus salad paired with parmesan cheese, fresh chives, and a lemon vinaigrette dressing is easy to make and tastes light and fresh.
I ended up with an abundance of asparagus this spring, about 20 pounds (9 kg), so I started searching for recipes online that would help me use up my harvest. Nicole Gaffney’s Shaved Asparagus Salad caught my eye.
I made a few tweaks to her recipe using the ingredients I had on hand. It turned out so good my husband asked me to make it on repeat… and he doesn’t normally like raw asparagus. I’m sharing my asparagus salad recipe in hopes that it may inspire you to try something new with your asparagus and chive blossoms too.
Jump to:
Would you like to save this recipe?
We'll email this recipe link to you, so you can come back to it later!
This post may contain affiliate links for products or services I use and love. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
Why You’ll Love Shaved Asparagus Salad
The real secret to this salad is that the simple ingredients let the bright sweetness of asparagus shine in a way that I haven’t ever experienced before. Shaving the asparagus makes it easier to eat and absorb the dressing. There’s no need to boil the asparagus because of this simple shaving method.
How do I shave asparagus?
You’ll need thicker stems of asparagus for this recipe. We use foraged wild asparagus or farmer’s market asparagus most often. Some store-bought stems may be too thin for shaving.
Using a vegetable peeler, start at the root end of the stem and peel towards the spear head. Continue peeling each stem until it’s too thin to continue peeling.
Chive Blossom Vinaigrette
This dressing requires a few common pantry items as well as some freshly cut chives with blossoms on top.
Chive blossoms are a beautiful edible flower, but the flavor is very strong. Just in the same way you wouldn’t want to eat a raw clove of garlic, you wouldn’t want to eat a whole chive blossom plain either. The flavor is excellent, but too strong.
If the blossoms are out of season, just omit them. It’s important to marinate the chive blossoms to tone down the pungency of the flavor.
More of my favorite salads
Shaved Asparagus Salad with Chive Blossom Vinaigrette
Bright and zesty salad made from shaved asparagus and parmesan cheese coated in a chive blossom vinaigrette dressing made from red wine vinegar and lemon juice.
Ingredients
- 10 ounces (285g) fresh asparagus spears, thick works best
- 2 ounces (60g) parmesan cheese, shaved
- ⅛ cup (1 oz, 30ml) Lemon juice, freshly squeezed (about half a lemon)
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- freshly cracked pepper
- ¼ cup chopped chives
- 10 chive blossoms
- 1 teaspoon honey or liquid sweetener of your choice
- ⅛ cup (1 oz, 30ml) extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
-
Combine the lemon juice, red wine vinegar, chopped chives, and chive blossoms in small bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
-
Add in honey and olive oil slowly while whisking well to combine. Set aside to marinate while assembling the salad. Whisk briefly before pouring over the salad.
-
Cut any tough or woody asparagus ends off. Using a vegetable peeler, shave thin strips of asparagus lengthwise. It may take a few tries to perfect your shavings first.
-
Thinly shave the parmesan cheese using a vegetable peeler unless you've purchased pre-made shavings.
-
Combine asparagus and parmesan in a medium bowl. Drizzle the dressing over the top. Toss gently to combine. Serve immediately or refrigerate up to 1 hour in advance from serving.
Recipe Notes
Follow these helpful tips for best results:
- Thicker stemmed asparagus works best in this salad. Thin spears do not shave well.
- Grana Padano, Pecorino Romano and Asiago are the cheeses most similar to Parmesan in flavor and texture, making them the best substitutions in this recipe if necessary.
- Eat this salad while its fresh. It doesn’t hold up well as leftovers.
Leave a Reply