Roasted asparagus, tossed with chopped hard boiled eggs and a tangy garlic and Dijon mustard vinaigrette dressing make the perfect side dish for Easter or any spring meal.
Our asparagus is starting to emerge from the ground! This is a very exciting time of year because asparagus is my most favorite vegetable, and fresh from the ground asparagus tastes better than any I've ever eaten.
Asparagus is labor-intensive to get started, but once it's established, it is low maintenance and prolific. If you have a nice, sunny spot in your yard (and you adore asparagus like I do), you should look into growing it. The trick is to buy crowns (like big, thick roots) that are several years old, and you never cut spears that are thinner than a pencil. You can keep cutting it as long as the spears are nice and fat, and you will get a crop for a couple of weeks every spring.
As with most foods, fresh asparagus from your own garden is worlds different from what you buy in the store from half a world away, and when you roast it, the spears are sweet and juicy and amazing.
I love to roast asparagus and use it all different ways, but one of the best is in this gorgeous salad.
If I'm cooking for just Joe and myself, I mix the salad all together on a serving plate. If we're cooking for others (as we will be for Easter dinner), I serve the dressing on the side.
Also, this dressing gets very tart if you leave it for longer than a couple of hours. By the second day, it's almost inedible. Make it and use it fresh and don't save leftovers.
How to Make Egg and Asparagus Salad with Mimosa Vinaigrette Dressing
- Prepare the Mimosa vinaigrette dressing. Combine the lemon juice, white wine vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard, sugar, pressed garlic, salt, and black pepper. Whisk until well blended. Cover; refrigerate until ready to use.
- Roast the asparagus. Preheat oven to 400º. I cut my asparagus spears into 2-inch pieces at this point, but you can also leave the spears whole if you prefer. Spread the asparagus pieces in a shallow baking pan. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Cook until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Allow to cool.
- Assemble the salad. Move cooled asparagus to a serving platter. Top with egg. Drizzle with vinaigrette; serve immediately.
Here are some other asparagus recipe you might like:
- Seared Scallops with Asparagus
- Chicken Asparagus Alfredo
- Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breasts with Fresh Asparagus
- Garlic Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan Cheese
Egg and Asparagus Salad with Mimosa Vinaigrette Dressing
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb asparagus woody ends trimmed off
- 2 large hard boiled eggs see link in notes section below for how to best prepare hard boiled eggs
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 clove garlic pressed
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
- Combine lemon juice, vinegar, oil, mustard, sugar, pressed garlic, salt and black pepper. Whisk until well blended. Cover; refrigerate until ready to use.
- Heat oven to 400. Spread asparagus in a shallow baking pan. Drizzle with oil and toss to coat. Cook until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Allow to cool.
- Transfer cooled asparagus to a serving plate, and top with egg. Drizzle with vinaigrette; serve immediately.
nicolefelicianmo says
Perfect spring supper! Thanks for being a great contributor to Momtrends! Next month is food month and I've got lots of foodie ideas to share. Maybe you could even contribute a guset post! Stay tuned!
And for any other commenters--join the fun every Friday at
http://momtrends.blogspot.com/2010/04/stylish-b...
Jen @ BigBinder says
Hi! I just came over from TILT. And - I had an asparagus egg salad tonight, at the restaurant I professed my love for in my post. Just thought that was a funny coincidence 🙂
Mrs. Jen B says
Delicious! I do love asparagus - exactly what does one have to do to grow it successfully?
FeelsLikeHomeBlog says
It's not difficult to grow at all, but it does take some time. Buy crowns that are 2-3 years old, plant them in a sunny spot at the bottom of a trench about 12 inches deep. Cover with about 6 inches of soil. As the plants grow, keep covering with a couple of inches of soil at a time until the soil is level with the rest of the ground.
The year you plant, you can't pick any of the spears. The second year, you shouldn't pick any spears, either. That gives the roots a chance to grow and become healthy and established.
The third year (and all subsequent years), you can pick any spears that are bigger around than a pencil. Let the smaller ones grow and continue to feed the roots. They'll make tall fronds that will die back in the fall. After they are brown and crunchy, cut the fronds off above the ground.
There's a bit more to it (mulching, keeping weeds out, etc), but that's the gist. 🙂 Good luck!
victoria says
Hi...just found your site. the egg and asparagus are not listed in the ingredients... nor is the serving size for this dish...how many does this serve? how much couscous? hard boiled egg or fried? asparagus tips of the whole thing? sorry for all the questions... Thanks.
Tara Ziegmont says
That is very strange. I recently updated my recipe plugin, so it must have lost some of the ingredients. I fixed it now.
1 pounds of asparagus. Use the whole spears but trim off the woody ends and cut into 2" pieces.
2 cups couscous.
2 hard boiled eggs.
I would say that it serves 4-6 depending on the size of your servings, if you add the couscous. If you don't use couscous, it's probably more like 2-3 servings.