Vegan Eats

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I really liked the way this fresh spring salad turned out, which is good, because I really like asparagus. It’s been in season since early May, but the good local stuff should only be around for another couple weeks, so I’ve been loading up on it lately. This salad is suspiciously similar to a previous fennel salad post, but whatever, I bet none of you would have even noticed if I hadn’t just said that… um, enjoy!

Ingredients:
10 stalks asparagus
1 navel orange, peeled and cut into segments
2 teaspoons orange zest
1/2 bulb fennel, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
2 to 3 tablespoons pine nuts, lightly toasted in a saucepan over medium-heat
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions:
1. Remove the tough, woody stems from the asparagus stalks and cut the tips off. Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil and blanch the asparagus tips for about 10 seconds. Drain into a strainer and immediately run the tips under cold water until cool. Into a large bowl, shave the asparagus lengthwise using a vegetable peeler. Add the blanched tips to the bowl.
2. If you don’t know how to segment an orange, watch this video. However, before peeling the orange and segmenting it, zest it with a fine grater or scraping it with a seraded knife. Add the segments and the orange zest to the asparagus bowl.
3. Add the fennel, orange juice, lemon juice, olive oil, parsley, and pine nuts. Mix together gently with your fingertips until well-combined. Season to taste with a bbig pinch of salt and a bit of black pepper.
Serves: 3 to 4