Potato Asparagus Salad with Honey Lemon Vinaigrette

Salad season has returned, and I’m here for it!

You will love this classic potato salad of creamy baby potatoes, tender blanched asparagus with crunch from radishes and pistachios. It is brought together with a sweet balanced honey lemon vinagrette, fresh herbs in abundance, and tangy crumbled feta cheese. Using asparagus just sings Spring, but with a few changes, it is a fabulous salad all year round, more of this at the end of this blog post.

Honey Lemon Vinaigrette

First things first, prepare this classic Master Vinaigrette.  I call it a Master Vinaigrette, because it is just so versatile.  Obviously as a salad dressing, but also as a marinade for veggies or even meat before grilling or baking, as a sauce to drizzle over roasted vegetables or fish, and so on. The combination of honey and lemon, with a touch of mustard creates the perfect tang, bright sweet flavour that enhances so many dishes. 

It comes together so easily: just combine all the ingredients in a glass jar with a lid and give it a good shake. Store in the fridge till needed.  Bring it back to room temperature before using, as the olive oil will have solidified in the fridge. There will be leftover dressing, feel free to use on a fresh green salad on day two.

Potatoes

Next comes the mini or baby potatoes. Slice in half (or quarters if the potatoes you are using are a bit larger, they should be bite sized in the end) and bring to a boil in a pot with well salted water. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and simmer till they are just tender. 

A knife should slide in easily to the centre of the potato and release.  If the knife gets stuck, you need to give it a few more minutes.  But they shouldn’t be crumbly.  This should take about 12 to 15 minutes depending on the size of your potato.

Drain and place the potatoes in a bowl.  As they start to cool down, drizzle some of the dressing over the potatoes and toss gently with a wooden spoon.  This will allow them to absorb the dressing giving them a great flavour on their own even before the rest of the ingredients join in. While they are cooling, chop the rest of the ingredients

Asparagus

Blanch the asparagus.  This will only take a few minutes, so it can happen just before you want to serve the salad.  Cut the asparagus into two inch (5 cm) pieces, and place them in small pot with salted water just covering them. Bring to a boil and cook for only two minutes, depending on how thick the stalks are. 

Quickly transfer the asparagus to an ice water bath to stop any further cooking.  Let them cool down, dry off, and add to the salad.

Assemble the Salad

When ready to serve, in a large bowl combine the potatoes, slices radishes and green onions, and most of the chopped dill and parsley.  Add in the cooled tender asparagus.  Drizzle enough dressing to flavour but not soak the ingredients.  Garnish with the slivered or chopped pistachios, and the remaining parsley and dill.  Crumble feta cheese over it all.  Taste and re-season with salt and pepper as desired.

Final Thoughts

Serve this salad at either room temperature or slightly chilled.  Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for a few days. 

This will serve six as a side on a plate with other food, or it will serve four if making it a major part of your meal.

Alternative Ingredients: Feel free to replace the pistachios with your nut of choice.  Mint is also a great addition to the fresh chopped herbs.  After asparagus season you can replace them with blanched sliced green beans.  You can replace the feta with goat cheese or even mini bocconcini.  Or how about burrata!?

Add-ons: poached chopped chicken, or sliced boiled eggs will make this salad a meal!   Even sliced roasted salmon, or chilled grilled shrimp would work great on this salad.

More Spring Salad Options

For more great salad options check out Carrot Ribbon Salad with Feta and Pine Nuts, Mimosa Devilled Egg Pasta Salad, BLT Potato Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette, Tabbouleh Inspired Herb and White Bean Salad, Broccoli Salad with Blueberries and Poppyseed Vinaigrette, Spring Pea and Salad with Mint Vinaigrette

If you make this Potato Asparagus Salad with Honey Lemon Vinaigrette, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! It’s always lovely to hear from you guys, and I always do my best to respond to each comment or question. And of course, if you do make this recipe, and you post it on Instagram, don’t forget to also tag me so I can see! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is such a treat.

Love Jen

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Potato Asparagus Salad with Honey Lemon Vinaigrette

Creamy mini potatoes, tender asparagus, and crunch from radishes and pistachios are all brought together with a bright Honey Lemon Vinaigrette and fresh herbs. Switch out the asparagus for blanched green beans, and this salad goes from Spring to Summer.

Course Salad

Cuisine North American

Keyword asparagus, honey lemon vinaigrette, mini potatoes

Prep Time 40 minutes

Cook Time 19 minutes

Servings 6

Ingredients

Salad

• 450 g (1 lb) mini or baby potatoes, scrubbed
• 450 g (1 lb) fresh asparagus spears, roughly 12-15 spears
• 3-4 medium to large radishes, cleaned
• 3 green onions, trimmed
• 1/3-1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, roughly 2 oz or 60 grams
• 3 tbsp fresh chopped dill, divided, see Notes
• 3 tbsp fresh chopped parsley, divided, see Notes
• 4 tbsp slivered or chopped pistachios, see Notes

Honey Lemon Vinaigrette, make in advance

• 1 small shallot, finely minced
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tbsp white wine, champagne or sherry vinegar
• 2 tbsp runny honey
• 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper

Instructions

Salad

Potatoes

1. Slice the potatoes in half (or into quarters if they are larger) and place into a pot of well salted water. Bring to a boil and then reduce the temperature to medium. Let the potatoes simmer till tender. A sharp knife should easily slide into the middle and not get stuck. But do not over-cook. This should take between 12-15 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes.
2. Drain the potatoes and place into a bowl. Once the initial steam has disappeared, drizzle some of the Vinaigrette over the potatoes. Toss to coat evenly. There shouldn't be too much, but there should be enough vinaigrette to gently soak into the potatoes as they cool. Once cooled, they can be stored in the fridge till ready to assemble the salad.

Asparagus

1. Have a bowl filled with ice and cold water ready.
2. Trim away the woody ends. Slice the tops off cleanly. Cut the remaining spears into approximately two inch (5 cm) lengths. Don't overthink this one.
3. Place them all into a pot and cover with water. Add 1 tsp salt and cover with the lid. Bring to a boil, and boil the asparagus for two minutes. If the stalks are very thin, you may want to check them at the 90 second mark for tenderness.
4. Use a slotted spoon or spider to tansfer the asparagus to ice water bath to halt any further cooking.

Assemble

1. Thinly slice the radishes into rounds. Slice the green onions into small rounds. Chop the fresh dill and parsley.
2. Transfer the potatoes to a larger bowl if the bowl they are in cannot accommodate all the remaining ingredients.
3. Add the radishes and green onions to the potatoes. Add most of the chopped herbs. Add in the asparagus. Add most of the crumbled feta cheese and most of the pistachios.
4. Drizzle with enough dressing to coat the ingredients pleasantly. Give it all a gentle toss. Garnish with the remaining herbs, feta cheese and pistachios.
5. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired.
6. This salad can be served right away or chilled till needed, roughly 30 minutes.
7. Leftovers can be stored in a sealed contaier in the fridge for a couple of days. The asparagus may lose some of it's bright colour, but the flavour will still be there.
8. See blog post for more details.

Honey Lemon Vinaigrette

1. Combine the shallot, garlic, mustard, lemon juice, vinegar and honey in a jar with a lid. Use a fork to combine well,
2. Add the olive oil and whisk or close the lid on the jar and shake vigorously.

3. Season with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings and ingredients as desired, if you want it sweeter, add more honey, if too acidic, add more olive oil, etc.

4. This can be stored in the fridge till needed. Bring back to room temperature before using, as the olive oil will have solidified. Give it a good shake before drizzling over the salad.

Recipe Notes

This is a salad, and if you want to add more or less of ingredients, feel free to do so. If you want more dill or parsley go for it. Or if you want more feta, do it!
Feel free to add more nuts for more crunch.