Asparagus was on sale at the grocery store, so I decided to take another stab at my potato and asparagus salad. Last time I made it with our homemade mayonnaise.
This time I simplified the recipe to cut down on time an effort.
Here are the ingredients:
- 1 bag small new/red potatoes (1-2 lbs, larger potatoes halved or quartered)
1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1″ pieces (bottom 1/4 of the stalks removed)
2-3 stalks celery, sliced into 1/4″ pieces
1 small onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3/4 tsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp mayonnaise
1/3 cup olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon
chopped herbs (rosemary, thyme & chives)
kosher salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
(This recipe is best made a day ahead)
This recipe might sound weird if you’re used to typical potato salad. But since I don’t like raw celery and my wife doesn’t like hard-boiled eggs, this is a good substitute for the ubiquitous Southern dish.
You start off by cutting the potatoes down to size. The smallest ones probably don’t need to be cut, but the larger ones do. If they’re not all the same size, they won’t cook evenly. Throw them in a pot of boiling, salted water. When you think they’re ready to come out, poke one with a knife. If there’s no resistance, remove the potatoes and immediately shock them in a bowl of ice water. This stops the cooking process.
As for the asparagus, most people would steam them. That’s what I did last time, but this time around I wanted my salad to have the added flavor of sautéed onion and garlic. Plus, cooking the raw celery makes it a little less crunchy. Start by pouring a couple of tablespoons of olive oil into a large pan over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add the garlic and onion and a pinch of salt. When the garlic starts to brown, add the asparagus and the celery and stir. You’re supposed to sauté the vegetables, so make sure to stir them often or else you’ll just be just steaming them on top of the onions:
Take it off the heat when the thickest pieces of asparagus are cooked to your desired texture. It takes me about ten minutes.
While the vegetables are cooking, mix the mustard, mayonnaise, lemon juice and olive oil. These are approximate amounts. If you need to add more liquid, add more olive oil. It may seem a little too tangy, but it won’t when it’s mixed with the vegetables.
When the asparagus is finished cooking, you pour them onto a cold plate and put them in the refrigerator to chill down. When they’re cool to the touch, mix all of the ingredients (potatoes, asparagus medley, sauce and chopped herbs) and season to taste with salt a pepper. The salad should be creamy with a hint of lemony vinaigrette. Refrigerate overnight and mix well before serving. I like to serve mine at room temperature.
I was in a hurry, so I cooled everything over ice in the refrigerator:
You can really play around with this recipe. Next time, I might add some roasted garlic and swap out the mustard for balsamic vinegar. Or maybe I’ll do a Mediterranean-style variation by grilling all of the vegetables, swapping out the celery for cucumbers and kalamatas, substituting yogurt for the mayonnaise and throwing in some dill. That would be good.
*Sorry about the lack of focus in the top picture. My camera is slowly dying.
