Asparagus and Golden Beet Salad

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Asparagus and Golden Beet Salad

The season’s first asparagus pairs with tender butter lettuce and sweet golden beets in this springy salad, which comes together quickly, with a little bit of prep. Red beets are a bit wintry for this particular dish, but fortunately, golden beets are relatively easy to find at most supermarkets and simple to cook (see Tip). Just do so a day in advance, to save yourself some time. Similarly, you can prepare the eggs a day in advance, peeling and quartering them just before serving. A little bit of savvy planning goes a long way here.

Rating

Ingredients

  • 2medium golden beets, cooked (see Tip)
  • 2tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 1bunch medium asparagus (about 15 spears)
  • 2tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1/4cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2small heads of butter lettuce, leaves separated, rinsed and patted dry
  • 2 to 3soft-boiled eggs, peeled and quartered (optional; see Tip)
Set base servings to enable scaling:

Directions

Cut beets into smaller wedges or slices, and transfer to a salad bowl. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon vinegar. Season with salt and pepper.

Snap off tough ends of asparagus. In a medium pot, bring abundantly salted water to a low boil and cook asparagus for 3 to 4 minutes, until just tender. Remove and spread out on a kitchen towel to cool. Set aside.

Make the vinaigrette: Put the remaining 1 tablespoon vinegar and all of the lemon juice in a small bowl. Add mustard and whisk to dissolve. Slowly whisk in olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add salad leaves to beets and dress very lightly with about 1 tablespoon of the vinaigrette.

Arrange leaves and beets on a platter or individual plates. Top with asparagus and ½ egg, if using, per plate. Drizzle remaining dressing over everything and serve.

Notes

To prepare the beets, peel and quarter them. Add to a medium pot over medium-high heat, add water to cover and salt abundantly. Simmer until easily pierced with a fork, 25 to 45 minutes, depending on the size of the beets. Cool. (You can make the beets in advance and refrigerate for up to 2 days.)For soft-boiled eggs, lower large eggs into rapidly boiling water; when water returns to boil, lower heat to a brisk simmer; cook 7 minutes, then cool in ice water and peel.

Nutrition

Info
Trans Fat: 0 gramsFat: 11 gramsCalories: 135Saturated Fat: 2 gramsUnsaturated Fat: 9 gramsSodium: 344 milligramsSugar: 3 gramsFiber: 2 gramsCarbohydrate: 6 gramsProtein: 4 grams
Salads

Source: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1025251-asparagus-and-golden-beet-salad