Roasted Asparagus Salad with Tangerines and Cashews

Citrus brightens this time of year.  When I see a bowl of oranges or satsumas on my kitchen counter, everything becomes a bit sunnier.  That positive energy transfers itself to this salad with its unusual combination of flavors.  Bright green, crisp-tender asparagus is tossed with a tangerine dressing that has Asian flavors.  Tangerine segments, green onions and cashews perk up the salad further.  This Roasted Asparagus Salad with Tangerines and Cashews is a great spring dish.

Marie Simmons created this recipe for the “Cooking for Health” section of the April 1999 issue of Bon Appétit. Simmons points out that her recipe uses all parts of the tangerine—the peel, the juice, and the fruit within.  Each component plays its own role, much like members of a chorus might sing their own parts.  But the final impression has a harmony of light– but just right– flavor.

Spring salad

We are finding lots of bundles of fresh asparagus in the markets this spring.  I first tried this salad as Simmons wrote it, keeping the spears whole, but I like the look and the ease of working with the asparagus when it is cut into 2-3 inch diagonal lengths.  Tossed with a bit of olive oil, and seasoned with salt and pepper, the spears are out of the oven in less than 10 minutes.  You can do the roasting ahead of time and then prepare the dressing and toppings later.

My microplane helped immensely with this salad—grating the zest, then also grating the fresh garlic and ginger.  After I had enough zest, I juiced three tangerines and then combined the rice vinegar and sesame oil with the citrus juice and other components.

Citrus for the Win

The first time I made the salad, I was skeptical of how the segments of tangerines would fit into the dish’s flavor profile. I thought just having the citrus dressing would be enough. Plus those tiny tangerines were a challenge to peel and segment neatly.  Once we took our first forkful of salad, however, I saw clearly that the segments made the salad sing.

If your pantry is low on tangerines, fresh oranges can work beautifully in the salad. If you’re allergic to nuts, I’m guessing that roasted and salted sunflower seeds would be a great substitute.

This Roasted Asparagus Salad is easy and quick enough to make on a weeknight, but I think it would be an outstanding dish at spring gatherings.  Like a meadow spotted with colorful flowers, the salad is pretty and beckons a celebration.

Roasted Asparagus Salad with Tangerines and Cashews

Sunnyside Cook

Dawn Dobie

A colorful spring salad of quickly roasted asparagus spears flavored with tangerines in 3 ways.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 7 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Servings 4 side servings

Ingredients

  

For the asparagus:

• 1 pound asparagus spears rinsed and thoroughly dried, woody ends trimmed off, cut on the bias into 2 to 3-inch lengths
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the dressing:

• 1 ½ teaspoons zest of tangerine peel or orange peel
• 1/3 cup fresh tangerine or orange juice (from 2-3 tangerines)
• 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
• 1 ½ teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 1 garlic clove grated or finely minced
• ¾ teaspoon grated or finely minced fresh ginger root

For the salad:

• 2 tangerines or oranges
• 2 tablespoons finely sliced green onion tops
• 2 tablespoons chopped roasted and salted cashews

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line large baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Place asparagus on baking sheet and drizzle with oil. Toss to coat all the spears then spread them out. Season with salt and pepper. Roast until crisp-tender, about 7-10 minutes. (Mine were ready at 7 minutes.) Transfer asparagus to serving platter and allow to cool.
• Using a microplane or other implement, zest the tangerines until you have the desired amount of peel. Cut these tangerines to get the juice needed for the dressing.
• Whisk together tangerine juice, zest, rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, and fresh ginger in small measuring cup or bowl. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper. Whisk again.
• Using a sharp knife, remove the peel from the tangerine (or orange), then section the fruit so that all white pith and section dividers are removed.
• Place tangerine pieces atop asparagus in an eye-pleasing arrangement. Drizzle the asparagus and tangerine segments with the dressing. Top the salad with the sliced green onions and cashews.

Notes

Adapted from a recipe by Marie Simmons published in “Cooking for Health” in Bon Appétit April 1999.

Asparagus can be roasted and tangerine segments can be cut several hours ahead.  Wait until shortly before serving to juice and zest the tangerines for the dressing.