Asparagus salad

Tips: Enhancing your asparagus salad

Make your salad better with a few, simple tips. This recipe has simple but tasty ingredients, which means that every detail is important, and below, we listed some of our best tips for getting it just perfect.

Choose the right asparagus

The quality of the asparagus is alpha and omega for a great-tasting salad. Look for medium-thick, straight, and firm white asparagus stalks with tightly closed tips, indicating their freshness and delicate flavour. Unlike its green counterpart, white asparagus should have a smooth, ivory surface and should feel solid to the touch. The spears should snap when you bend them, which also shows they are deliciously fresh. Avoid any asparagus that looks limp, dry, or shows signs of wilting.

Blanching the asparagus

For the perfect asparagus salad, blanching is a must. Boil them for 2–4 minutes, depending on their size, until tender. Instead of simply draining them after boiling, quickly move them to a bowl of ice water. This stops the cooking immediately and keeps the asparagus' colour bright and its texture just right. Before you start, set up your ice bath near the stove so you can quickly move the asparagus from the boiling water to the cold water. Use a slotted spoon or tongs to transfer the spears safely. After cooling, drain the asparagus well.

Cook chicken gently

Cook the chicken gently at medium-low heat to prevent the outside from burning while the inside cooks to the right temperature. This keeps the chicken juicy, and if you let the chicken rest after cooking, the juices will settle, resulting in tender and more flavourful bites.

Enjoy our asparagus salad with tender chicken and pearled spelt

Embrace the vibrant freshness that spring and early summer have to offer with our delightful asparagus salad recipe. It combines tender chicken, nutty pearled spelt, and crisp white asparagus. Mixed with pickled red onion, lemon juice and zest, delicate white asparagus, and creamy salad cheese, it is a cornucopia of fresh flavours and harmonious textures. Whether you serve it warm or cold, this salad is sure to impress with its flavourful combination and beautifully colourful appearance.

Explore some of our other salad recipes, for example, this colourful tomato and burrata salad or green asparagus with crème fraîche dip.

Subtle sweetness from white asparagus

White asparagus, known for its tender and slightly sweet flavour, is what makes this salad truly special. It has a milder, more delicate taste than its green counterpoint, and this subtle sweetness is a perfect match for the robust textures and flavours of the chicken and pearled spelt. Blanched to perfection, white asparagus contributes a wonderfully tender and sweet element to the salad, making it truly irresistible as a standalone or a side dish.

Refreshing taste with zesty lemon and vinegar

The refreshing zest of lemon, coupled with the sharp tang of apple vinegar, brings a lively dimension to the asparagus salad. This combination elevates the flavours of the tender chicken and succulent asparagus and infuses the pearled spelt with a bright, invigorating taste. The lemon's citrus notes and the vinegar's acidity balance the richness of the salad cheese and the depth of the nutty spelt. This combination refreshes the palate and complements the other ingredients beautifully.

What to serve with the asparagus salad?

Serve the salad with warm, crusty bread like a baguette or flatbread. Its satisfying crunch and rustic taste contrast nicely with the asparagus' crispness and the creamy salad cheese.

If you are serving the salad as a side dish, pair it with grilled seafood or fish like grilled shrimp or a piece of seared salmon to complement the flavours of the asparagus and chicken. You can also serve it with a creamy soup, such as a tomato basil or a roasted garlic cauliflower soup, for a warming addition that balances the freshness of the salad. A side of roasted seasonal vegetables like bell peppers, courgettes, or cherry tomatoes can also add colour and depth to your menu.

Put your own spin on it

You can easily add more to this salad using the ingredients you have at hand. More vegetables with a bit of crunch will beautifully complement the other ingredients in the salad, such as cherry tomatoes or cucumber. Mix in fresh mint or other fresh herbs like parsley or chives for a refreshing touch.

For a bit of crunch, add almonds or other nuts, either whole or roughly topped. The nuttiness goes well with that of the pearled spelt, and you get a delicious crunch in every bite. Toast the nuts a bit on a dry pan before adding them to the salad for a deeper flavour. You can also replace pearled spelt or add to it with quinoa, farro, or barley. These grains bring a similar nutty taste and delicious texture to the salad.

Marinate the chicken to add flavour and tenderise it. You can use whatever marinade you want, but be careful not to overpower the delicate flavours in the asparagus salad. For the best results, marinate it for at least an hour or overnight in the fridge. Add a delightful, zesty, and herbal freshness with a lemon herb marinade that combines olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and fresh herbs. For a sweet yet tangy profile, make a mustard maple marinade with Dijon mustard, maple syrup, and apple cider vinegar, which also mixes well with the apple vinegar pearled spelt. For a savoury touch, try a garlic soy marinade with soy sauce, honey, and sesame oil, providing deep umami notes, or a balsamic vinegar and rosemary marinade for a rich, aromatic flavour.