Asparagus Curl Salad

Asparagus is one of those vegetables I didn't discover until I was an adult, but once I tried it, it was love at first bite. For a while I was only roasting or pan-frying asparagus, but a few years ago at a culinary conference I learned about a raw asparagus curl salad. It's easy to make and light on the palate making it a perfect spring salad.

Make sure to use the freshest asparagus you can find for the best flavor. Choose spears that are firm to the touch and green in color. The tips should be tightly closed with a nice dark green or purple tinge.

For this salad, I recommend a thicker asparagus spear (for roasting I prefer the thinner variety).

To make the asparagus curls, run your Vegetable Peeler along the spear to create curls.

You can combine asparagus curls with arugula, escarole or baby spinach for a more substantial salad or keep it simple and just use the ribbons themselves as the salad base.

Dress the salad with a splash of red wine vinegar and then twice as much olive oil. Season it with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Grab the Vegetable Peeler again and shave some curls of Parmesan or other hard cheese onto the salad for added flavor.

This is a fun salad that you can add your own touches to. Try these variations or experiment on your own.

• In place of red wine vinegar, use freshly squeezed lemon.

• Add some roasted pine nuts or sliced almonds to the salad for some crunch.

• Instead of vinegar and oil, top with homemade Roasted Meyer Lemon-Vanilla Vinaigrette.

• Instead of making asparagus curls, use a sharp Chef's Knife or Santoku knife to cut spears diagonally into very thin slices.

Quick Tip: Add the olive oil after the vinegar so that the oil doesn't create a “slick,” causing the vinegar to run off the vegetables.