Mediterranean Asparagus Salad

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Loblaws Companies Inc.. All opinions are 100% mine.

Asparagus is now in season and is available at a Loblaws grocery store for a limited time only. Purchase it soon and relish its unique flavour!

I enjoy incorporating seasonal vegetables into our meals. I try different asparagus recipes to make a variety of meals when asparagus is in season and at its freshest. From stir frying it with rice and noodles, to adding it to soup; from grilling it and enjoying it with butter and salt or with rice and flatbread, to baking it, and making side dishes with it, I have tried so many different ways of cooking asparagus. I think it is a versatile vegetable with lots of flavour, vitamins, and nutrients, which makes it easy to include into our menu.  

To prepare asparagus, rinse it under cold running water, snap off the coarse woody ends where they naturally break when the spear is bent. If the asparagus is mature and the lower stalks are tough, you can also peel off the lower part of the stalks using a vegetable peeler and running it down the stalk away from the tip before using it. 

I made this salad with asparagus inspired by the Mediterranean Cookbook. For this recipe you will need...

For the aioli sauce 

• 2 garlic cloves
• salt
•  black pepper
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Grate the garlic, add salt and whisk it with the egg yolk until thick and creamy, then leave it for a couple of minutes. Add the oil a few drops at a time, and whisk until it is thick. Stir in the lemon juice and cover the sauce with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the asparagus is ready. 

• 24 green asparagus 
• salt
• water
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• aioli sauce
• 1 tbsp finely chopped basil
• 1 tbsp dill
• 1 tomato blanched, peeled, seeded and chopped
• freshly ground black pepper

Trim and prepare the asparagus. In a large frying pan, add 2" of water and bring to a boil. Salt the water and blanch the asparagus for about 5 minutes until it is tender. Drain the asparagus and run it under cold water.

Dry the pan and add the oil. Cook the asparagus for about 5 minutes until it is a little charred. Remove from the pan and arrange in the serving platter.

Place the aioli sauce, scatter the basil, dill and tomato. Season with pepper and serve immediately.

Loblaws contest: 

Enter the contest by following @LoblawsON on Instagram. Make sure your Instagram account is public and upload an original picture of asparagus to your Instagram page using the hashtags #WeLoveFood and #ShareTheFoodLove. You could win up to $250 to purchase your next Loblaws groceries. 

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