Spicy Tahini Asparagus Salad
March's seasonal produce in a salad
If your feed has not told you yet — Spring is here which means … Spring produce is here!!! If you have never made a salad with asparagus let me show you how I do it.
I cut them into segments and then sauté them lightly with a bit of olive oil before setting to the side to cool. After ripping the tofu into chunks I do a quick marinade and then pop that in the oven to cook till golden. If you have any leftover bread - I highly recommend making some fresh croutons — and I promise its worth the extra step. While the oven is hot I use this moment to also toast some cashews for the very necessary crunch factor. The dressing comes together by blending tahini, olive oil, salt and pepper, red chili flakes, capers, lemon juice, and lots of zaatar spice. Which makes a spicy tahini dressing that will have you wanting to lick the plate.
Spicy Tahini Asparagus Salad
yields 2 servings / prep time is about 30 minutes
Ingredients for the dressing
yields about 1 cup of dressing
1/2 cup - tahini
1/4 cup - lemon juice
1/4 cup - water
2 tbsp - olive oil
1 tbsp - capers and juice
1 tbsp - zaatar spice
1 tsp - red chili flakes
salt and pepper to taste
1 large clove - garlic
Ingredients for the salad
1 head - red bib lettuce and or radicchio
1 1/2 cups - fresh herby croutons
1/2 cup - toasted cashews
1 bundle of sauteed asparagus or 2 cups of asparagus spear segments
1/4 cup - plant-based parmesan cheese
16 oz / 1 block - extra firm tofu broken into chunks
Tofu Marinade
2 tbsp - olive oil
1 tbsp - soy sauce
1 tbsp - corn starch
1/2 tbsp - garlic powder
1/2 tbsp - zaatar spice
salt and pepper to taste
Crouton herby mix
2 cups - of cubed fresh bread
2 tbsp - olive oil
1/2 tbsp - garlic powder
1/2 tbsp - zaatar spice
salt and pepper to taste
What you will need:
A large bowl
Salad tongs
Tongs for sauteing or a spatula
Cutting board + knife
A blender
2 sheet trays
Instructions
Step 1 - Prep + roast the tofu
There is nothing worse than going to make something and realizing you don’t have the stuff ! First things first gather your mise en place, wash the lettuce, measure out the needed ingredients and pre heat the oven. In a large bowl, break apart the tofu and give it a quick marinade before popping in the oven or in the air fryer (both work great). I roasted mine in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. Once finished, allow to cool a bit before eating and set to the side to cool down a bit.
Step 2 - Roast the croutons and cashews + sauté the asparagus
In a bowl or on a sheet tray, tear the bread into chunks into bite size pieces and drizzle over a bit of olive oil and rub in the spices by hand. I popped these in the oven while the tofu was still working and gave the croutons a toss after 5 minutes and then let it go for another 5 minutes before taking them out for a total of 10 minutes in the oven. For the cashews I let them sit in the oven for about 7 minutes as 5 was not really enough. Just be careful with toasting nuts to not forget about them, especially given that the oven is set to 400 degrees.
To sauté the asparagus, simply heat a medium sized sauté pan with a touch of olive oil and sauté the asparagus segments lightly and season with a bit of salt. After that just set the pan to the side to cool before building the salad.
Step 3 - Make the dressing
To make the dressing I used a Nutribullet. Add in all the components for the dressing and blend till smooth before popping into the fridge to allow the flavors to develop a bit more while everything else is being worked on. The dressing itself can last up to 2 weeks in the fridge in a food safe container.
Step 4 - Assemble the salad
For this salad I used a whole head of red bib lettuce. I typically prefer to use radicchio but this time around I wasn’t able to get my hands on some so red bib lettuce or even kale will do. In a large bowl toss the lettuce with the dressing before plating the salad over the plate you plan to serve this on. Over the salad, top with the roasted tofu and croutons before drizzling a generous amount of dressing. Over that, top with the sauteed asparagus, toasted cashews and shred over lots of parmesan cheese.
If you have any left over croutons, save them in a food safe air tight container and let them hang out in the fridge to enjoy for up to a week.
If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.
And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3