I really dislike under-cooked asparagus, and in virtually every video I�ve used it, I�ve pleaded with the audience to make sure the spears get to the sweet and tender stage. I�ve always felt that the main reason most people who don�t like asparagus, is that they grew up eating it crunchy, barely warm, and bitter.
However, when you shave it thin with a peeler, and give it a quick curing/pickling in the dressing, those harsh attributes mellow out substantially, and the sweet, grassy flavor comes through. In fact, it was so delicious that I contemplated serving it without the fried meat. Happily, that passed.
Thanks to the pastrami�s aromatic spices, subtle smokiness, and peppery finish, it was a perfect match. Of course, you can substitute with bacon or ham; but the cured beef brisket was a nice change of pace to those much more common, pork-based choices.
Just be sure to not dress your raw asparagus until you�re ready to eat. The couple minutes it takes to fry the meat is all the marination time you�ll need. Anyway, peak asparagus season is almost upon us, and if you�re looking for a new way to enjoy it, I hope you give this shaved asparagus salad a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 4 portions:
24 large asparagus spears (save bottoms for soup)
salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste
4 oz pastrami, sliced thin
For the dressing:
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar (or regular rice vinegar with a pinch of salt and sugar)
3-4 tbsp olive oil, or to taste
0 comments:
Post a Comment