Shaved asparagus salad with pangrattato

Fresh asparagus, crispy pangrattato, and plenty of punchy EVOO—this dish is one of those quietly brilliant recipes that’s more about what you don’t do than what you do. No oven, no fuss, just a handful of good ingredients, treated with a little care: seasonal produce at its finest. 

Today, the 23rd April, marks the “official” start of the asparagus season in the UK. So, what better way to celebrate than this vibrant salad from Bettina Campolucci Bordi? 

"The secret here is in the olive oil," says Bettina. A quality EVOO brings the whole thing together coating those fine asparagus ribbons and carrying the lemon in just the right way. The pangrattato is technically optional, it’s the golden, garlicky crunch that takes this from lovely to let's-make-this-again-tonight.

Simple, bright, and full of flavour this is a plate of early summer you’ll want to keep on rotation.

Here's the method:

Feeds 2-3.

• Shave each asparagus spear by holding the asparagus end and shaving away from you with a vegetable peeler.
• Chop up the leftover part that is too thin to shave, and discard the hard asparagus end. 
• Place the shaved asparagus in a bowl and add the lemon juice, zest, and olive oil and gently mix through with your hands, massaging it into the asparagus to coat thoroughly.
• Set aside to marinate while you make the pangrattato.
• Blitz the bread in a blender or food processor to create breadcrumbs.
• Heat a frying pan on a medium-high heat and add the olive oil.
• Once hot, add the breadcrumbs, grated garlic, chilli, thyme, and salt & pepper and stir for a few minutes until the breadcrumbs are golden and crispy.
• Turn off the heat and then add the lemon zest.
• By now the asparagus has been marinating nicely.
• Serve it up in a lovely serving dish, top with the pangrattato, and enjoy! (I actually quite like the pangrattato at the bottom of the plate and mixing just before serving so that the asparagus stays super green.)
  

Top tip: 

You can prepare the asparagus in advance and let it marinate for longer if you wish for a more intense flavour.