Shaved Asparagus Salad

Another it was fate dinner. I came home and upon checking my Google Reader, saw this recipe for a Shaved Asparagus Salad. I had greens, I had asparagus, I had both peas and edamame, and I even had proscuitto.

Like I said, it was meant to be.

Of course, in my  hunger delirium, I completely forgot to top the salad with proscuitto, but it didn’t matter. All was well in salad land.

This weekend we were in Madison to run the Madison Marathon (Eric, my sister Keri, and my uncle Bob all ran the half marathon, and my friend Caroline ran the quarter marathon!). I don’t want to talk about the marathon – it was bad (hello 93-degree day) – BUT, while in Madison, we got some amazing vegetables at the farmer’s market. If you’re anywhere in the Midwest, even in, say, Missouri, I’d say it’s worth it to make it to Madison just for the market. It’s that good. I bought these really cool pea vines – something I’ve never seen before – and I couldn’t wait to try them.

They’re all tangled together and crisp like asparagus, but the flavor is still that of a fresh garden pea. They’re awesome.

It also happened to be Brat Fest Weekend in Madison. The World’s Largest Brat Fest. As in, they break records every year for how many brats they’ve sold. The brats were good, but I also found this great mustard stand. There’s a town outside of Madison that is home to the Mustard Museum; they had samples of all kinds of mustards, and I think I ate my weight’s worth of pretzels dipped in them. I brought home this beauty:

I made my typical vinaigrette with this smoky garlic mustard. Yum.

Shaved Asparagus Salad
adapted from Serious Eats

1 small bunch asparagus
1/4 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup frozen edamame
handful of mixed greens
handful of pea vines, chopped (can be omitted)
good feta cheese, to taste
juice of one lemon
zest of one half lemon
1 tablespoon minced shallot
2 teaspoons mustard (Dijon works nicely if you don’t have the fancy stuff)
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and toss in the peas and edamame, cook for 3-4 minutes, then drain and rinse with cold water. Using a vegetable peeler, shave the asparagus into thin slices. Cut the tips off and set to the side. Assemble salad ingredients by layering the lettuce, asparagus, peas/edamame, pea vines, and feta.

For the dressing, whisk together the minced shallots, lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Pour over salad.