This, is an amazingly simple, but totally tasty recipe.
Serve it as a munchie, a snack, a salad, or a side dish.
Add sliced onion, Feta or blue cheese, nuts, dried cherries, cubes of salami, it is really all very, very good!
I tossed a batch together for a dinner party, and friends were impressed, so I made another batch for lunch at friends and…
They all want the recipe.
INGREDIENTS
Veggies:
•Fresh asparagus, trimmed
•Shredded carrot
•Anything else you’d like to add
•1 tbsp Kosher salt
•2 tbsp sugar
Marinade:
•1 envelope Italian dressing mix*
•1/2 cup avocado or olive oil
•1/2 cup canola oil
•1/4 cup salad vinegar
•1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
*Note the ingredients in this dressing mix. It is made by a local company, and sold only at one store near me; but can be ordered on line here.
Wash the asparagus and cut about an inch off of the bottom of each spear. Don’t fall for that old “grab both ends and snap it” story – you’ll end up wasting a bunch of decent asparagus.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then stir in the salt and the sugar.
Add the asparagus, cover, and cook for two to three minutes, just until the asparagus is bright green and crisp tender.
Remove the asparagus from the pot and immediately plunge into a large bowl of ice water, moving the spears around a bit to insure they are all quickly cooled.
Leave the asparagus in the ice water for a few minutes, then transfer to a platter lined with a clean kitchen towel. Wrap the towel up and over the asparagus to cover, then stash in the fridge for a couple of hours.
Now’s a great time to make the dressing!
Add all the ingredients to a canning jar, cover tightly, then shake to combine well.
Note: you could, of course, use all avocado or olive oil when you make your dressing; but then, when you store it in the fridge, it will turn into a solid block that will need to be brought out well in advance of when you are planning to use it. Far better, I think, to split half and half with the canola oil, which will keep your dressing nicely liquid.
Asparagus chilled and dressing made, cut the asparagus spears in half, then toss with the carrots and whatever other veggies/etc. you feel like adding.
Add the dressing, toss to coat well, then stash in the fridge until needed.