A shaved asparagus salad featuring asparagus ribbons tossed with dried cherries and a lemony vinaigrette.
Ever since our enormous Penske rolled out of Brooklyn at 11:30pm on a Saturday night, our lives have been something just shy of complete chaos. I’ve been traveling back and forth to NYC over the past week tying up loose ends. It was strange to be back in the city not 48 hours after our exhausted/triumphant exit. But now, we’re really here. The family is settling in, though nearly any task includes endless searching through a boxes and bags, rifling through these papers or those, or opening this drawer and then that one. I feel a little like we’re all just wandering in circles in this unfamiliar space. After one of the most intense and exhausting weeks of my life spent getting out of New York, I am a little bummed to face the fact that moving into a place is hard too.
But I’m also just so glad just to be here in Charlottesville. We’re enjoying the peace, fresh air, and nature. I’m slowly introducing my Brooklyn girls to the Virginia wild with all its birds, wild flowers, poison ivy, and beetles of every ilk. I took the girls for a walk along the river and we spotted turtles, fish, and countless colorful birds. I’m teaching them to listen for the whistle of the train as it rolls through town and to enjoy the simple pleasure of rain on the roof.
We also are lucky enough to live close to a pretty little park that hosts a Wednesday evening farmer’s market. The offerings are fewer than those at Union Square, but I’m happy to help myself to bunch after bunch of tender asparagus. I’ve basically been stockpiling it (perhaps in the hopes that a full fridge will make this place feel more and more like home). The typical preparations have lost just a bit of their luster and I wanted to try something fresh. Enter this lovely shaved asparagus salad. Served cold, it’s sweet and salty and fresh and interesting. It’s new, yet familiar, kind of like our new home.
A shaved asparagus salad featuring asparagus ribbons tossed with dried cherries and a lemony vinaigrette.
- 1/3 cup dried cherries (tart Montmorency are the best)
- 1 small shallot, minced
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 pound asparagus, washed with woody ends broken off
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In a small bowl, whisk lemon juice and vinegar into olive oil. Add sea salt, shallot, and dried cherries, and set aside. The cherries will plump up while they steep in the vinaigrette.
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To shave asparagus, hold each stalk by the woody stem and use a peeler to shave upwards.
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Place shavings in a bowl, drizzle with vinaigrette, and toss. Check salt and acid levels and adjust as needed. If you have the time, cover and refrigerate for an hour or so. Serve cold.
Here’s hoping you settle in comfortably, just in time for the lazy days of summer. That market sounds fantastic and your beautiful salad is proof of its virtues.
Thanks Aimee! It has been odd to be so stressed at such a resplendent time of year, but all the seasonal food pouring in provides further impetus for us to get things together ASAP.
I can’t wait for Michigan asparagus and this salad looks like a lovely way to celebrate spring. Your new home sounds like a wonderful spot!
Thank you Nicole. (And yes, one advantage of moving further south is earlier produce.) Here’s hoping your asparagus comes in soon!
Wow, it sounds like the new town is beautiful, and good on you for helping your kids experience varied kinds of living environments. Gorgeous pics of this spring salad, too.
I feel like you are preparing me for what’s to come. I just stared at the boxes I loaded up into the truck and all I could think about is what kind of chaos ensued once I unloaded and have no idea where anything is. I’m also agree that a full fridge will help make it feel like home (I’ve already got plans for the Saturday after I get into my new home to head to the market!)
However, the more nature aspect of it all sounds lovely! Plus this salad is perfect.
Welcome to your new home! Living near such a beautiful river is going to be a wonderful thing, I bet. I hope you all settle in comfortably and enjoy getting to know the place.
Congratulations on the move, Elizabeth! I’m glad you’re soaking up the fresh air in between organizing sessions. This salad looks so lovely and light, perfect for this time of year.
Do you mean Montmerency cherries
HEALTHY & DELICIOUS!
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Welcome to Virginia; there are many historical sites nearby, great for homework assignments or simply lulling one into another lazy summer—but, wait till Fall—wondrous!
We too are living under mounds of lovely, fresh Asparagus as in Provence.