Three years ago, at Christmas, right before we went to serve I realized I had forgotten to make the asparagus. In a rush, I threw everything into a pan, and accidentally made the best warm asparagus salad. It’s taken me several tries to get it right but finally – Everyone’s Favourite Asparagus and Feta Salad is here!
The asparagus is crunchy, the dressing is delicious and warm, and the feta gives it a nice pop. It also plates up beautifully and is a huge crowd pleaser for parties. This recipe has to be my most requested by far.
The most important thing to do when making this salad, is to be very careful not to overcook the asaparagus. You’ll notice the asparagus spears will start to change colour in the pan from dull to a very bright green. It’s at bright green that you pull them out and immediately submerge the spears into a bowl of icewater to stop them from cooking. This process keeps them crunchy and flavourful before they start to turn brown and soft. You want the spears just cooked when you pull them out the first time. They will go back in the pan to warm through with the dressing at the end.
The warm dijon mustard vinaigrette is super simple to make and gives the salad a different dynamic from your everyday. The trick is to boil off some of the acidity from the red wine vinegar before adding mustard and olive oil. Allow it to simmer for 2 minutes until it reduces by a third, leaving behind a delicious sweetness as a base. I’ve tried this with multiple different vinegars, and normally I’m very open to simple swaps, but for this dish in particular I highly (highly!) recommend using red wine vinegar because it pairs so nicely with the dijon and feta.
From there, simply whisk in the mustard, olive oil and heap of black pepper. Toss the asparagus through the dressing in the pan and serve with crumbled feta. Amazing. I promise. Serve this asparagus and feta salad alongside any main dish, and I highly recommend pairing it with this glorious roasted chicken.