Here is a keto salad with only few ingredients. Although the origins of asparagus is Mediterranean it has gotten a place only in the new Turkish cuisine and does not have a long past.The Turkish translation of asparagus is “kuşkonmaz” which means “birds do not land on this plant”.
This is a salad with a very tasty combination. It is fresh and eye-catching, worth a try. It might look tricky if you have never tried preparing asparagus yourself, but there is not much to it. There are even videos in youtube demonstrating how to do it. Here it is with pictures.
You start with cutting off the bottom part of each asparagus about 5 cm/2 inches, as these parts are a bit sandy. The rule of thumb is to cut off where they were tied up, as you see in the picture. As these parts of asparagus were in the soil and have a somewhat wooden taste if used in a salad. However, do not trow away these parts and also the peels of asparagus. You can easily use them for a asparagus soup.
Then take out and discard the little pricks of the asparagus-as these have a sour taste, but leave the ones on the very top. Again use a knife. They come out really easy, and nothing really prickly. Then peel the asparagus sparing the top part, using a vegetable peeler to make sure all the asparagus has the same thickness as they tend to get thicker downwards. This is done to make sure that they cook evenly. Don’t forget to save the peels for the soup.
Add plenty of water and salt to a pot and bring to boil. Add the asparagus and keep in the boiling water for about 1-2 minutes. To understand if they are ready take one out, if it bends slightly it means it is ready. If not sure you can taste. They should not be totaly soft, but more like al-dente. Take them out and put immediately into a cold water bowl with ice cubes to protect color. Keep the asparagus in the icy water for 1-2 minutes, just enough to cool them and take out to a serving dish. Do not keep in cold water too long or they will start soaking up the water and then you get a water taste, which is not wanted.
Now all you have to do is peel the avocado, cut into two, take out the seed and slice the avocado and place the pieces on top of the avocado. Garnish with lemon’s juice, salt, fresh chopped or dry mint, extra virgin olive oil and serve. Of course you may want to add color with some chopped red pepper or halved cherry tomatoes, totally up to you.
Enjoy.
Asparagus and Avocado Salad
Ingredients
- 6 asparagus spears
- 1 avocado halved, peeled
- ½ lemon’s juice
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon mint dry or fresh
Instructions
- Cut away about 5 cm (2 inches) off the base of each asparagus spear.
- With a knife take out the pricks around the asparagus, leave the ones on the very top.
- With a vegetable peeler, shave the asparagus from under the top, to the bottom, to make them even with the top part. This is to make sure it is cooked evenly.
- Boil the asparagus for about 10 minutes with water and a pinch of salt, until soft and edible.
- Prepare a bowl with cold water and ice cubes. Put the asparagus into this water when cooking is done. Keep in this water for 1-2 minutes and take out to a serving dish.
- Peel the avocado, cut into half, take out the seed. Then cut each avocado half into 4 and place these gently on the asparagus.
- To garnish add the olive oil, lemon’s juice, salt and mint to a small bowl, mix well and drizzle on the salad. If using fresh mint make sure to chop well before adding.