Asparagus Salad with Hard-Boiled Eggs & Creamy Dijon Dressing
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This springy asparagus salad has all of the makings of a perfect Easter or Mother’s Day side dish.
Adapted from Jacques Pépin More Fast Food My Way (Rux Martin/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008), this springy asparagus salad has all of the makings of a perfect Easter or Mother’s Day dish. The presentation is lovely, the components can all be made ahead of time, and the taste is divine. Serve it as a first course or a side to slow-roasted salmon or honey baked ham.
How To Make Jacques Pépin’s Asparagus Salad
Begin by hard boiling the eggs. The best way is to cover them with an inch of water and then bring to a boil. Remove the pot from the heat, cover with a lid and let sit for 14 minutes.
Cool the eggs in an ice bath or simply run them under cold water to stop the cooking process.
Peel and finely chop the eggs and set aside.
For the asparagus, first trim off the bottom ends. Then, in a skillet large enough to hold the asparagus horizontally, bring six cups of salted water to a boil.
Boil the asparagus for 3-4 minutes, or until tender-crisp. Be careful not to overcook it — no one likes mushy asparagus.
Shock the asparagus in an ice bath to stop the cooking process and preserve the bright green color.
Make The Creamy Dijon Dressing
For the dressing, simply combine the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, water, salt and pepper in a bowl. Whisk to combine.
Finally, to assemble the salad, remove the asparagus spears from the ice bath and dry on a clean dishtowel. Arrange the spears on a platter or individual plates and spoon the sauce generously over top. Sprinkle the chopped egg and chives over the sauce and serve.
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Asparagus Salad with Hard-Boiled Eggs & Creamy Dijon Dressing
This springy asparagus salad has all of the makings of a perfect Easter or Mother’s Day side dish.
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 3 large eggs
- 2 bunches thick asparagus spears, bottom ends trimmed
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives, for garnish
For the Sauce
- ½ cup mayonnaise, best quality such as Hellmann's or Duke's
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- Pinch salt
- A few grinds freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place the eggs in a small saucepan and cover with cold water by one inch. Heat over high heat until the water comes to a rapid boil. Remove the saucepan from the heat, cover with a lid and let stand for 14 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the eggs to a bowl of ice water to chill. Peel and chop the eggs and set aside.
- Bring 6 cups water and 4 teaspoons salt to a boil in a large shallow pot. Add the asparagus and cook 3-4 minutes, or until tender-crisp. While the asparagus is cooking, fill a large bowl with ice and water. Transfer the cooked asparagus to the ice bath to stop the cooking process and preserve the bright green color. When cool, remove the asparagus from the ice bath and set on a clean dish towel to dry.
- For the sauce, mix all of the ingredients together in a small bowl.
- To serve, arrange the asparagus spears on individual plates or a platter and spoon the sauce generously over the middle of the spears. Sprinkle the chopped eggs and chives over the sauce.
- Note: The nutritional information is calculated with the assumption that between the salted water the asparagus is cooked in and the added pinch of salt, there is approximately ½ tsp. added salt in the recipe.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (5 servings)
- Calories: 225
- Fat: 21 g
- Saturated fat: 4 g
- Carbohydrates: 4 g
- Sugar: 2 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 6 g
- Sodium: 356 mg
- Cholesterol: 121 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Excellent! Only substitution was Avocado oil mayo for the regular mayo. Will definitely add this to our regular rotation.
Would it be okay to chop the asparagus as well? I want to try this for kids, I don’t think they’ll be able to eat it like this 😀
Sure!
Simple and superbly delicious. This is a beautiful alternative to traditional salads and is an especially nice spring time treat for all asparagus lovers.
I served this as healthy summer breakfast at our B&B today. I topped it with a sprinkling of crispy prosciutto and few thinly sliced radishes. On the side I served Chef Jenn’s golden gazpacho. I prepared everything the day before and assembled it in the morning. I posted a photo on the Jacob Swartz House facebook page. Easy and delicious, thanks Jenn for another winner!
I’ve made this delicious salad several times and it’s always a big hit with anyone who like asparagus. It’s super simple to make and makes an impressive presentation on your table. There are never any leftovers.
Excellent! And my new go-to when I need to bring a dish somewhere because it is so easy, flavorful, and pretty. The first time I made this I couldn’t resist, ate it all myself, then had to make a second batch for dinner!
If I just want to make the asparagus a day in advance, what’s the best way to keep it? Should I dry completely and store in a covered container in the refrigerator?
Yes, that sounds like a good plan. Hope you enjoy!
Gorgeous salad and perfect for our Easter brunch. I made a large platter of this asparagus and it was completely devoured. Came together in about 10 minutes (I already had hard-boiled eggs on hand) and was absolutely delicious. Everyone raved about it!
Prepared this today for Easter brunch. Lightly grilled the asparagus last night while grilling the rest of our dinner, to save the step of blanching them. Assembled it today, super fast. I thought the dressing was a little too vinegary at first, but the richness of the chopped egg mellowed it out perfectly. Really delicious!
This is one of our favorites, so much flavor, impressive for company.