Asparagus Ribbon Salad with Crispy Chickpeas and Hot Honey

This asparagus ribbon salad is all about contrasts. You have silky ribbons of asparagus piled with crispy chickpeas, toasted almonds and coconut, and snappy bites of apple. A vibrant lemon olive oil dressing pulls everything together, and a drizzle of hot honey softens the lemony edge. It’s a bit of a springtime weirdo, but in a really good way.

If you’ve never shaved asparagus into ribbons, I encourage you to give it a try. The resulting tangles of asparagus are delicate, tender, and wonderful. They absorb dressing nicely, and welcome all sorts of crunchy, contrast  ingredients you might have around – nuts, seeds, fried shallots, etc. That’s (basically) how we ended up with today’s recipe.

How To Make Asparagus Ribbons

Shaving raw asparagus into delicate ribbons is my favorite way to enjoy uncooked asparagus. The ribbons are delicate, becoming instantly tender when tossed with a simple lemon oil.  The key here is using a Y-shaped vegetable peeler. Beyond that, a few tips:

• Buy medium-thick asparagus, thin asparagus is hard to peel into ribbons.
• Wash asparagus and snap off the thick woody ends.
  
• Start peeling your ribbons just below the tip of the asparagus. Rotate if needed to get as many ribbons as possible per spear. I usually have a bit left, the part that is too hard to get to with the peeler. Slice that piece (and the tip) into thin strips. Pictured below.
  

Place the crunchy toppings on your salad at the last minute so they retain their crispness. Enjoy! -h

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