Forecast for San Francisco: crazy.
This past weekend, the weather went up to the mid 70s, while last Monday it was storming with hail and thunder! While the weather gods are still making up their minds on how they’re feeling, the official start of Spring has gotten me in the mood for fresh fruit and an abundance of vibrant vegetables. Currently in season? Asparagus! I saw it at the local market on sale, and I had to snatch it up even though I wasn’t sure exactly how I was going to make it yet. Then, inspiration struck. In the form of shavings and cheese.
A few days before, I tried a new restaurant in SF called TBD that I found using a new restaurant discovery app I downloaded called Nara. When I used to work less, I would constantly read foodie newsletters and stay on top of all the hip and happenin’ new restaurant openings in San Francisco. But seriously, trying to know about all the new openings is a full-time job in itself. One day, I was trying to plan a dinner for me and A, and I was like dude. Where should we go?? For those who may know me, it might be shocking to hear that sometimes I just don’t feel like looking up a new restaurant or choosing something. I just want someone to recommend something to me. That happens to perfectly fit my tastes. How hard is that right? Cue the Nara app. You like the restaurants you try, and based on that, they’ll recommend restaurants for you and you can book reservations through it as well! What I like about the app too is that it tells you why it chose it for you, so you know what to look forward to at that restaurant.
And so far, the recos have been awesome. Especially TBD. What I love about TBD restaurant is that everything is cooked by live fire in a custom wood-burning hearth. It’s like a scene out of modern day Game of Thrones. Ish. Everything has a nice, smoky grill flavor– BBQ lovers will especially enjoy it! One of my favorite dishes that I had there was a kale and celery salad with anchovy vinaigrette and hazelnut curd. I don’t know what it was exactly, but the savoriness of the anchovy vinaigrette meshed really well with the kale. (excuse the dimly lit mobile phone photo)
But I digress. Back to the asparagus. After TBD, I was obsessed with anchovy vinaigrette. And what resulted from my desire to recreate an anchovy dressing was this bright, crisp salad with crunchy shaved asparagus, creamy ricotta cheese, and an umami-packed dressing. The day after I ate it again, and this time added some egg and poached salmon on for protein. HOLY CRAP IT WAS GOOD. Even my anchovy hater A liked the salad. So whether or not you’re an anchovy lover or hater, this salad is perfect for those warm spring days when you want to whip up something quick and tasty. Enjoy!
SHAVED ASPARAGUS SALAD WITH RICOTTA AND ANCHOVY DRESSING
Ingredients:
For the dressing
- 1 small container of anchovies + 1/2 of the oil
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/3 cup olive oil
For the salad
- Spring salad mix
- 1 bundle asparagus, cleaned
- 1 quarter of a red onion, thinly sliced
- ricotta cheese for topping
In a food processor, puree everything together except the olive oil. Once the anchovies are completely pureed, slowly stream in the olive oil.
To make a salad, thinly slice the asparagus lengthwise to create the asparagus strips. Toss the asparagus with the spring salad mix and onion. Top with crumbled ricotta and dressing!
