Recipe: Asparagus With Chopped Egg Vinaigrette

Spring’s first asparagus offers hope that the season has truly arrived, so welcome in these unsettling days. Always elegant, the grassy spears will grace any holiday table, even one set for a smaller crowd. Serve your asparagus with ham, chicken, herby roasted lamb, baked fish or a farro pilaf. I often bring this dish to holiday celebrations but this year it’s staying right at home. The just-tender green spears are topped with a bright vinaigrette and showered with chopped hard-cooked egg. Emblematic of rebirth and renewal, eggs are symbolic for Easter and for spring. Get local eggs, if you can, and cook extra for egg salad the next day.

Once we can venture out again, this is a great dish to bring to any gathering. Almost everything can be done ahead of time. Cook the asparagus and cool them, put them on a platter or in a container, mix up the dressing in a jar and remember to keep the egg white and yolk separate until ready to sprinkle. It's as delicious as it is pretty, wherever you’re celebrating.

Asparagus with Chopped Egg Vinaigrette
Makes 3 to 4 servings

Kosher salt
1 large bunch asparagus, preferably plump ones, tough ends removed
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (or rice vinegar or ½ teaspoon more red wine vinegar)
2 tablespoons chopped cucumber
2 tablespoons chopped red bell pepper
1 scallion, thinly sliced
Freshly ground black pepper (optional)
1 hard-cooked egg, peeled

1. Bring a large skillet of water to a boil over high heat and add a big pinch of salt. Half fill a baking dish with ice water. Add the asparagus to the boiling water and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, depending on thickness, until they start to turn brighter green and the stalks begin to feel just tender. With tongs, transfer the asparagus to the ice water, or drain them and add to the ice water. Let stand until cooled.

2. Remove the cooled asparagus from the ice water and drain on a paper towel or a dish towel, patting the spears dry. If cooking the asparagus earlier in the day, transfer them to a plate, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

3. To make the vinaigrette, in a small bowl, with a fork, mix the oil, vinegar and lemon juice. Stir in the cucumber, bell pepper and scallion and season to taste with salt and some pepper, if you wish. Cut the egg in half and chop the white and yolk separately. Leave on the cutting board.

4. Arrange the asparagus on a serving plate. Spoon the vinaigrette over in a decorative manner, drizzling a little all over the spears. Sprinkle the vinaigrette with the chopped egg white and yolk. Let stand at least 10 minutes before serving.