Asparagus salad with ginger and sesame

It's asparagus season which means spring is in full bloom! The New York Times did a great feature on three recipes to take advantage of the season. I highly recommend all three, especially if you want to spice up the usual roasting route. But, there was something particularly special about this raw preparation that I'm sharing here. It's crunchy, fresh and zesty from a ton of ginger and would go well with avocado, grass-fed steak or wild salmon.

Asparagus salad with ginger and sesame
serves 6, adapted from NYT recipe by David Tanis

1.5 lbs fat asparagus
2 TBS rice vinegar
1 TBS grated ginger (I used about 3/4 TBS and found that the ginger packed a good punch. The full tablespoon will have some added heat)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 TBS raw honey
1/4 jalapeño, seeded and minced (can increase if you like more spice)
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 cup green onions, thinly sliced
sea salt and pepper

squeeze of lime juice, to taste
torn mint leaves, for garnish
cilantro sprigs, for garnish

To make the dressing, mix together the rice vinegar, ginger, garlic, honey, and jalapeño. Whisk in the sesame oil. Taste for salt and pepper. 

Prepare the asparagus by snapping off the tough ends. Then, peel any tough skinned spears with a vegetable peeler by running the vegetable peeler from about half way down the spear towards the bottom. Slice the prepped spears on a diagonal into thin slices (about 1/4 inch). 

Place sliced asparagus into a bowl. Add green onions. Season with salt and pepper. Then toss with dressing. Add a squeeze of lime and adjust seasoning. Garnish with mint and cilantro and serve chilled or at room temperature.