Description
This elegant salad layers smoky grilled asparagus with Hatch green chile ricotta, bitter endive, brioche croutons, and a truffled mustard vinaigrette for a vibrant balance of flavors and textures.
Ingredients
Scale
For the asparagus:
- 1 bunch extra-large asparagus
- Pinch sea salt
- Pinch black pepper
- 2 tbsp EVOO
For the Hatch Green Chile Ricotta Cheese:
- 1 gal whole milk
- 2 cups heavy cream
- ½ cup lemon juice
- 2 tbsp distilled vinegar
- 2 cups hatch green chile, roasted, peeled, and diced
- ½ tbsp kosher salt
For the Truffled Mustard Vinaigrette:
- 2 shallots
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp whole grain mustard
- ½ cup lemon juice
- ½ cup rice vinegar
- 1 cup EVOO
- ½ cup white truffle oil
- Kosher salt to taste
For the Brioche Croutons:
- 1 cup brioche, cut into micro-small dices
- ¼ cup EVOO
- Kosher salt to taste
For the salad:
- 2 red endives
- 2 yellow endives
- 2 tbsp chives, chopped
- Kosher salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
Instructions
For the asparagus:
- Cut the bottoms of the asparagus to get rid of the woody stems.
- Toss the asparagus with the salt, pepper, and olive oil
- Grill on high heat until lightly charred. The asparagus should still be crunchy.
For the Hatch Green Chile Ricotta Cheese:
- Add the milk and cream into a heavy-bottomed pot. Bring to a boil.
- Turn off the heat and add the lemon juice and vinegar.
- Stir a few times until you see the milk start to curdle.
- Slowly pour the contents of the pot into a bowl that is lined with cheesecloth. Let the whey completely drain out of the curds.
- Gently scrape the curds off the cheese cloth and put into a bowl.
- Chop the green chile finely and stir into the curds.
- Season the cheese with salt to taste.
For the Truffled Mustard Vinaigrette:
- Using a hand blender, add the shallots, garlic, mustard, lemon juice, and rice vinegar into a large jar and mix well. Slowly add the two oils to emulsify and then season with salt.
For the Brioche Croutons:
- Sauté the brioche in the oil until golden brown and season with salt. Pour onto a sheet tray lined with paper towels to soak up extra oil.
For the salad:
- Toss the endives with the truffled vinaigrette, chives, salt, and pepper.
Building the plate:
- Pipe the Hatch Green Chile Ricotta Cheese into a long rectangular shape. Carefully place the endive, alternating the red and yellow, into the ricotta at an angle. Place about 5 grilled asparagus lying next to the endive. Sprinkle the croutons all over. Drizzle a little of the truffled vinaigrette over the whole dish.