Artichoke, Asparagus & Shrimp Composed Salad
By Andrew Zimmern
Have you always wanted a secret weapon for picture perfect food plating? Ever wondered what the best knife would be for small handwork in the kitchen?
The bird’s beak knife is the most underrated tool in your kitchen arsenal. We eat with our eyes, so yes, presentation is important, especially when it comes to celebrating the moms in your life. This is the knife you should always use for fine work in your hand. The small curved blade will give you incredible control for peeling and trimming fruits and vegetables, deveining shrimp, even breaking down an orange.
Spring Salad for Mother’s Day
Ingredients
- 2 small beets
- 2 large artichokes, trimmed
- 2 lemons, halved
- 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and blanched
- 2 carrots, thinly sliced and blanched
- 1 pound fresh shrimp, peeled, deveined and halved lengthwise
- 1/4 cup lemon olive oil
- 1 bunch chives, plus more for garnish
- 1 bunch parsley, large stems removed
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 endive, thinly sliced
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced
- 1 orange, cut into supremes
- 1/2 cup oil-cured olives, pitted
- Lemon juice, for garnish
- Olive oil, drizzled for garnish
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Wrap the beets in foil and place on a baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes, until just tender. Allow to cool, then remove the skin. Cut into a ¼-inch dice. Reserve.
Meanwhile, squeeze the juice from the lemon halves into a large bowl of water. Working with 1 artichoke at a time, snap off the dark green outer leaves. Cut off all but 3/4 inch of the remaining leaves. Peel and trim the bottom and stem of the artichoke. Scoop out the furry choke with a spoon. Add the artichokes hearts to the lemon water until ready to cook.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the artichoke hearts and cook until tender, 20-30 minutes. Next, add the asparagus and cook until just tender, 3-5 minutes depending on the size of the stalks. Remove and reserve. Next, blanch the carrots until just tender, just a couple minutes. Remove and reserve. Finally, cook the halved shrimp until they turn pink, start to curl and are just cooked through, about 2 minutes. Remove and reserve.
Cut the asparagus tips off and reserve for the salad. Place the asparagus ends in a blender with the lemon olive oil to make the asparagus puree. Pour into a squeeze bottle to make it easier to plate. Reserve.
Place the chives, parsley and olive oil in the blender and puree until smooth. Strain this mixture through a sieve lined with cheesecloth set over a bowl. Discard the solids, use herb oil to garnish the salad.
On a large platter, compose the salad, starting with the endive leaves. Scatter the asparagus tips, the tomatoes, shallot slices, diced beets, orange supremes, and olives. Drizzle with the herb oil, and squeeze dollops of asparagus puree artfully around the plate. Add a some fresh lemon juice and olive oil. Garnish with chives.
