Spring Asparagus Potato Salad - a flavorful spring salad featuring crispy potatoes, asparagus, radishes, peas, hard-boiled eggs, fresh herbs and a delicious hollandaise dressing.
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You’re going to love this salad.
It’s a fan favorite in our house. I’ve already made it three times this spring. It’s so good.
It’s perfect for spring holidays, picnics and potlucks. Or a simple night at home. Any excuse to have this salad, really.
Crispy potatoes, tender asparagus, crunchy radishes, hard-boiled eggs, peas, fresh herbs and a hollandaise sauce. I mean how could you go wrong when you include hollandaise sauce?
Alright, let’s get to it!
🧾 Ingredients
Potatoes - Yukon Gold or Red potatoes work great. Sorry russet-lovers, they just don’t hold up as well to roasting. Yukon Golds will be slightly less crisp and will have creamier centers. Red potatoes tend to hold up better than russets and will have a crisp crust and creamy center.
We’re going to boil the potatoes, starting in cold water and finishing in the oven. We start by boiling the potatoes (in cold water) to speed up the cooking process.
Starting in cold water helps them cook more evenly and helps prevent feathering of the skin - putting them in already-boiling water causes the outside and skin to cook quicker than the middle, resulting in mushy skin and undercooked insides.
Once they’re boiled, let them cool off a bit, then chop them up and roast in the oven for some deliciously crispy potatoes.
Oil - Use a simple olive oil, or butter or ghee.
Garlic - I like to use fresh garlic, but garlic powder or pre-minced garlic will also work for this recipe.
Eggs - If you can, look for pasture-raised eggs. Though the term isn't regulated, pasture-raised hens generally get more space and access to the outdoors.
Because they tend to eat bugs and other things they find outside, their eggs tend to contain more nutrients like beta-carotene. You'll often notice their yolks tend to be a much deeper yellow when compared to conventional eggs.
Radishes - I generally use the red variety because they’re the most readily available.
Don’t let the radish greens go to waste, they’re edible! If they aren’t too wilted (sometimes the grocery store radish greens look a little sad…), just wash them up and throw them in this salad. You can also use them in a leafy green salad or even make radish green tea.
Asparagus - We’re going to break off the woody (and difficult-to-eat) ends of the asparagus (if your asparagus is super thin and tender all the way to the bottom, you may be able to leave the ends unbroken).
Simply take the end of the asparagus between your thumb and forefinger and bend until it breaks. This will be where the woody part ends and the fresh, juicy asparagus begins. Don’t toss the ends though. Save them to make stock or an asparagus end soup. Read more about asparagus.
Peas - frozen is the easiest way to go. Simply take them out of the freezer to thaw while you prepare the rest of the meal. Canned peas will also work.
Fresh herbs - chives, dill and mint add such freshness. I highly recommend including them if you have them.
Hollandaise Sauce
Egg yolk - If you’re worried about eating raw eggs, opt for a pasteurized egg yolk. Save the egg white for scrambled eggs or for your next baking adventure.
Dijon mustard - If you don’t have Dijon, regular mustard will also work.
Lemon juice - Ideally use the real stuff. Get yourself a good juicer and save the zest to use in pasta or this delicious Lemon Dutch Baby Pancake.
Cayenne pepper - we need just a pinch for an extra punch of flavor. The pinch won’t add much heat, but feel free to kick it up a notch if you’d like.
Olive oil - opt for a better quality oil if you can. Choose a fairly neutral-tasting oil - definitely no flavored oils. Canola oil will also work.
Butter - unsalted butter. You could opt for all olive oil, but I haven’t tested this. There’s just something about that butter flavor that adds a creamy richness to this sauce.
Salt - I usually use Himalayan salt, but kosher salt will also work.
🔪 How to make spring potato salad
1 - Boil potatoes: Fill a large pot (affiliate) with cold water and salt. Then add your potatoes and bring to a boil. Boil for about 10 minutes - you want the potatoes to be fork-tender, but not mushy.
Starting in cold water is important so the potatoes cook evenly, or your potatoes will end up with mushy outsides and hard insides.
Once the potatoes are cooked, use tongs to remove them from the water (don’t drain the water - we’re going to use it for the eggs) and rinse with cold water until they’re cool enough to handle.
2 - Roast potatoes: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Then cut the potatoes into about 1-inch chunks (if they’re still a little hot, use tongs to hold the potatoes as you chop).
Arrange the chopped potatoes on a lined baking sheet (affiliates) and toss with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Then roast for about 30 minutes or until the outsides are nice and crispy.
3 - Boil eggs: Add the eggs to the same pot that you boiled the potatoes in (hopefully you didn’t drain the water...). Bring the water to a boil and then turn off the heat and let the eggs sit in the hot water for 10 minutes.
Drain and rinse the eggs with cold water until they’re cool to the touch. Then peel and slice them. Set aside.
4 - Prepare vegetables: slice the radishes and set aside. Break the ends off the asparagus (use your thumbs to put pressure on the asparagus about an inch from the woody end - it should break off naturally).
*Remember to save the ends for stock or soup! Cut the asparagus into 1-inch pieces.
5 - Roast asparagus: toss the asparagus with olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper. Arrange on a baking sheet and roast for about 15 minutes or until the asparagus is tender.
6 - Prepare dressing: Melt your butter in the microwave or on the stovetop, and combine it with olive oil.
Combine the egg yolk (save the egg white for scrambled eggs or baking), lemon juice, mustard and cayenne in a blender (affiliate) and blend until smooth.
Add the butter/olive oil mixture slowly while the blender is running until it’s combined. Season with salt.
7 - Serve: If you’re serving as a side salad, combine potatoes, asparagus, radishes and peas in a large bowl. Fold in hard-boiled eggs and top with the hollandaise sauce. Garnish with fresh herbs and bonus if you add the radish leaves.
If you’re serving as a main dish, simply layer the ingredients starting with the potatoes, asparagus and radishes. Sprinkle peas on top and arrange the egg off to the side. Drizzle with sauce and garnish with fresh herbs.
💭 Tips, Tricks and Tools
Tools (affiliate): large pot, baking sheet, silicone baking mat (optional), blender, cutting board, knife, colander
Boiling potatoes: starting in cold water reduces the feathering or flaking of the skin and the potatoes will cook evenly. You won’t end up with undercooked insides and mushy outsides.
Hollandaise safety - hollandaise sauce uses raw eggs and as such poses a potential risk of food-borne illness (this is true anytime you eat undercooked eggs like sunny side up, soft boiled, etc.).
Using warm butter/olive oil helps cook the egg yolk a bit, but those who are pregnant or immune-compromised should avoid consuming undercooked eggs.
If you’d rather not use hollandaise sauce, try our lemon dijon vinaigrette or apple cider vinegar dressing instead.
Substitutions - You can use regular yellow mustard if you don’t have Dijon. Opt for fresh herbs if possible, but dried mint, chives and dill will work in a pinch. Canned peas will work instead of frozen.
To make it vegan, use chickpeas instead of the eggs and try our lemon dijon dressing instead of hollandaise.
🥔 Nutrition
This Potato and Asparagus Salad can be served as a side dish or main dish as it makes for a balanced meal.
It contains all the components of a balanced meal including protein (eggs, peas), fat (hollandaise, oil), carbohydrates (potatoes), and fiber (asparagus, peas, potatoes, radishes).
Asparagus is a great source of vitamin K and folate, and radishes are high in vitamin C.
Though hollandaise is high in fat, the sauce is used as a dressing and adds a ton of flavor. There’s nothing wrong with a little fat in a salad and a little goes a long way in terms of flavor.
Overall, this salad is high in fiber, antioxidants and many vitamins and minerals.
🥗 More spring recipes
Also check out our on post all about spring foods and how to use them.
Did you enjoy this spring vegetable potato salad as much as we do?
Comment below! And rate the recipe to let us know how it turned out! Not making it today? Save this spring asparagus potato salad for later by pinning it to your Side Recipes Board and make sure to tag us on Instagram @crooked.carrot to show us your asparagus potato salad creations!
📖 Recipe
Spring Asparagus Potato Salad
Ingredients
Potato Salad
- 6 medium potatoes Yukon Gold, Russet or Red potatoes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 2 ½ teaspoons salt divided + more to taste
- freshly ground black pepper
- 5 whole eggs
- 1 bunch radishes add the greens if they aren’t wilted
- 1 bunch asparagus about 1 pound
- ½ cup peas frozen, thawed
- Garnish with fresh herbs like chives, dill and mint
Hollandiase Sauce
- 1 egg yolk save the white for another recipe
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice save the zest for another recipe
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 4 tablespoons butter ¼ cup
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Boil potatoes: Fill a large pot with cold water, add potatoes and 2 teaspoons salt and set over medium-high heat (starting out in cold water reduces the feathering of the potato skins when cutting). Bring to a boil and let boil until just fork-tender, about 10 minutes of active boiling. You don’t want them to be too soft as they will cook more in the oven. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Roast potatoes: Once the potatoes are fork-tender, use tongs to remove them from the water (don’t drain the pot) and rinse with cold water until they’re cool enough to handle. Cut potatoes into 1-inch pieces (use tongs to hold them as you cut if they’re still a little warm) and transfer to a lined baking sheet. Toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 5 cloves minced garlic and ½ teaspoon salt and pepper. Roast about 30 minutes until the outsides are nice and crispy.
- Boil eggs: Using the water you boiled the potatoes in, turn the heat to medium and carefully add the eggs and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn off the heat, cover and let sit for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Once cool to the touch, peel and slice eggs.
- Prepare vegetables: slice radishes and set aside. Break ends off asparagus (about an inch from the woody end) and cut into 1-inch pieces.
- Roast asparagus: Toss asparagus with 1 teaspoon olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet (I usually use the same one the potatoes are on) and roast for about 15 minutes or until asparagus is tender and starting to char a bit.
- Prepare dressing: Melt butter in the microwave or on the stovetop. In a blender, combine egg yolk, lemon juice, mustard and cayenne, blend until smooth. Then slowly add olive oil and melted butter by slowly pouring oil/butter into the blender as it’s running until sauce is combined. Season with salt, adjust to taste.
- To serve: In a large bowl, combine potatoes, peas, asparagus and radishes. fold in hard-boiled eggs and top with dressing. Garnish with fresh herbs like chives, dill and mint. Also feel free to add in radish leaves.
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
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