[Printable recipe at the bottom of the page!]
It’s that time of year again – fresh, green, bright asparagus spears are all over the place. I love asparagus in pretty much any form; steamed, grilled, roasted, baked. But every now and then I want something different and new. Tonight I needed a side dish to go with grilled london broil and I just sort of came up with this from what I had in the pantry.
First I washed 6 small red potatoes and cut them into chunks.
I trimmed and chopped the asparagus as well.
I brought a big pot of salted water to boil and tossed in the potatoes for about 6 mins. Then I added the asparagus for another 3-4 minutes. It was just enough to cook the potatoes until tender and the asparagus to a crisp-tender stage. Then I drained them well and let them cool for about 15 mins.
I used the 15 minutes they were cooling to whip together some extra lemony mayonnaise using a bit of chopped preserved lemon to up the “zing” factor. I added 1 heaping tblspoon of Dijon mustard to the mayo and then tossed the warm potatoes and asparagus in the mixture.
A grating of fresh pepper and … voila! … a yummy, summery, warm potato and asparagus salad side dish.
Asparagus & Red Potato Salad
- 6 small red potatoes, washed and chopped
- 1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed and chopped
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise (homemade or from a jar)
- 1 tsp chopped preserved lemon
- 1 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- fresh ground black pepper to taste
Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Cook potatoes for 6 mins. Without removing potatoes, add asparagus and cook for a further 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and drain. Set aside to cool for about 15 mins.
Make a small batch of homemade mayo or use mayo from a jar. Add the chopped preserved lemon and the Dijon mustard and blend well.
Toss the mayo/mustard mix with the warm potatoes and asparagus. Grate fresh pepper over to taste.
Can be served while still warm or chilled and served cold. Makes 4 servings.
Nutritional Information: Cals 239. Fat 7.5g. Carbs 37.4g. Fiber 5.1g. Protein 6.2g.
(Note that the recipe can be made lighter using light mayo or by switching the mayo for a vinaigrette.)
An image from this post also appears here!
Asparagus ( 蘆筍 in Traditional Chinese)
Shea M.
May 13th, 2010
This sounds delicious! It’s definately asparagus season out here in Germany (you mostly see the white stuff here), which would probably still be good (kind of boring in the color department though). I’m going to have to try this out, maybe with a nice citrus-marinated grilled chicken!
Grace
May 14th, 2010
Kara this looks fabulous, I absolutely love asparagus too! I make this wonderful roast chicken with potatoes and asparagus that is a family favourite. Both of my kids hated asparagus until I made this dish. I definitely will try this looks very creamy, great combination!
Kara
May 17th, 2010
Thanks, both of you!
Shea – I’ll bet you could add some color with some chopped chives or something. Nothing too fancy or overwhelming, but the chives would be pretty and add a bit of zing.
Grace – I want to try this with roasted chicken next time. It seems like it would be a natural go-together!
Marly
June 15th, 2010
Kara
I love your name…and I love this recipe. Names are my passion…but so is food. So this is a great site for me! We’re vegan, but this recipe is very easy to veganize. And I’m always looking for ways to incorporate new veggies. Asparagus is one my family hasn’t fallen in love with yet. This might be my opportunity. Thanks!
Kara
June 15th, 2010
Marly – thanks!
I want to add more veggie and vegan recipes to my blog over time. You might check out the Asparagus Soup as well. I made it with chicken broth, but you could easily make it with veggie broth. It doesn’t taste overtly of asparagus – very subtle, so your family might be willing to try it out! 
Christine
July 15th, 2010
Hello Kara!
I so love your asparagus and red potato salad. The asparagus photo is awesome! I hope you won’t mind, I shared it in Foodista. It’s here: http://www.foodista.com/5HGJPNFV . You can add the foodista widget too to the end of this post so it will appear in the Foodista pages.
THanks!
Christine
July 17th, 2010
Asparagus ( 蘆筍 in Traditional Chinese)