SHAVED ASPARAGUS SALAD

Prep time: 40 minutes

Serves 4

Raw, thinly shaved asparagus isn’t commonly prepared in restaurants or at home, but do give it a try. Cooked and raw make a great simple flavour combination.

I’ve used a selection of my home-grown leaves here, which have been growing throughout the winter, and some wild pennywort, which is also on my doorstep – I’ve not bought salad leaves for years.

INGREDIENTS For the salad

– 250-300g asparagus (preferably thick stems)

– a handful of pennywort leaves and /or small tasty salad leaves

For the dressing

– a few sprigs of tarragon

– 1 tbsp cider vinegar

– 4 tbsp extra-virgin rapeseed oil

METHOD Remove the woody ends from the asparagus. Wash and dry the salad leaves.

Cut the tips off the asparagus about 2-3cm from the end and cook them in boiling salted water for a couple of minutes, until tender, then drain and refresh in iced water to keep them bright green.

With a swivel peeler, peel the asparagus stalks into long, thin strips, getting as much out of them as you can, then put the strips into cold water for half an hour so they curl up a bit. If you have chunks left, you can cook them and add them to the tips.

Whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing, season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then transfer to a jar or bottle so you can keep anything you have left (or make two or three times the quantity and keep it in the fridge).

To serve, arrange the cooked and shaved asparagus, and the leaves, on individual plates or in a large sharing bowl, and spoon over the dressing.