Shaved asparagus and fennel with Caerphilly recipe
Slicing freshly picked asparagus into thin slivers and eating it raw may not seem the obvious way to serve this delicious vegetable, but combined with just a few other simple ingredients it works a treat.
Julian Biggs, my right-hand man, came up with this little gem of a salad last year. Choose thicker stems of asparagus as they are easier to shave.
Ingredients
- 4 –6 thick or 8–10 medium very fresh asparagus spears
- 1 young head of fennel, trimmed, a few feathery tops reserved
- 1 handful of small salad leaves, such as buckler leaf sorrel, land cress etc.
- 1 pinch salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 70 –80g good-quality aged Caerphilly cheese, such as Gorwydd
- 0.5 lemon, grated zest and juice
- 4 –5 tbsp cold-pressed rapeseed oil
Details
- Cuisine: English
- Recipe Type: Starter
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation Time: 15 mins
- Cooking Time: 0 mins
- Serves: 4
Step-by-step
- Cut off the woody ends of the asparagus and peel the lower end of the stalks. Using a mandolin or very sharp knife, cut the asparagus on the diagonal into very fine slices.
- Halve the fennel and, again, using a mandolin or very sharp knife, slice the fennel as thinly as possible and place in a bowl with the asparagus.
- Shake the ingredients for the dressing together in a screw-topped jar and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the leaves and feathery fennel tops to the asparagus and fennel and season lightly. Toss with the dressing and arrange on plates. Shave the cheese with a small, sharp knife or a vegetable peeler and scatter over the salad.
Recipe courtesy of HIX Mayfair - Brown’s Hotel
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