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Mains

Asparagus Potato Salad with Lentils

May 28, 2020 by Alexandra Daum
This springtime asparagus potato salad features roasted new potatoes, herbs, chewy french lentils for protein, and a lemony mustard dressing.
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Potato asparagus salad in a large bowl with serving utensils.

Adding asparagus to potato salad could never a bad thing, right? This one is adapted from my roasted new potato salad but simplified a bit, and with asparagus, the queen of spring (sorry rhubarb). For this particular version I mixed jack by the hedge, or garlic mustard, with the spinach.

It ends up being a pretty great light dinner, with lots of lentils to fill you up, and a surprisingly balanced meal for a potato salad. If nothing else it’s a very good reason to eat potato salad as a whole meal.

If you’re a gardener, have a CSA, or use seasonal ingredients generally, try some of these great spring recipes using seasonal combinations: strawberry salad, gluten-free beet tart (using beet greens), and reader favourite roasted carrot salad with lentils.

Table of Contents hide
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
Recipe Notes
Garlic Mustard
How to Store
Expert Tips
More Asparagus Recipes
Asparagus New Potato Salad with Lentils

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

  • New potatoes: use main crop potatoes if you don’t have new potatoes. Just cut them into smaller pieces.
  • Greens: any kind of hardy green – that is, spinach, kale, swiss chard, rucola, mustard greens, and so on – can be used in place of the spinach and garlic mustard. If you can’t find garlic mustard but can get ramsons or wild garlic, you can use some of that instead.
  • Lentils: I call for green lentils, but black or mountain lentils are good too. Something with some bite, so that excludes red lentils or big brown lentils, both of which cook up a bit too soft.
  • Asparagus: you can use white asparagus – I am not such a fan, despite my German-ness, and prefer green here. Choose small, thin stalks.

Recipe Notes

Mixing the dressing while everything is hot causes the greens to wilt, makes the fresh garlic in the dressing a bit milder, and allows the potatoes to absorb some of that lemon and mustard flavour. Make sure to eat it while it’s still warm, too.

You really don’t want to overcook the asparagus – wait until the potatoes are quite golden, very nearly done, before adding it, to avoid limp stalks. A bit of crunch is a good thing.

Garlic Mustard

Garlic mustard is an invasive plant in North America (which means you can harvest as much as you want without worrying) but native to Europe. It used to be hugely popular as a seasoning or addition to dishes as long as 7000 (!) years ago.

It’s everywhere at this time of year, May/June, and a delicious, garlicky green that can be used as a substitute for spinach or other fresh greens. I use it for pesto, adding to salads like this one, and in soups and dishes like these coconut rice noodles.

I’ve used a mix of this and baby spinach, but if you have enough garlic mustard, go for it and use it as the lone green here. It’s excellent with the sharp mustard in the dressing. As with most greens, it’s best when small, so harvest as early as you can. It can be a bit overwhelming raw but wilted by the roasted potatoes, it’s a treat.

How to Store

Storage: this is best served immediately, but tastes good at room temperature too. I don’t recommend storing for longer than a day in a sealed container.

Freezing: I don’t recommend freezing this recipe.

Close up of roasted potato asparagus salad.

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Expert Tips

  • Use waxy potatoes: I recommend a waxy potato variety for this recipe, and any time you’re eating whole potatoes rather than mashing. Charlotte is one of my favourites, one that I grow in the garden, and widely available.
  • Omit the vinegar: the vinaigrette offers an optional tablespoon of white wine vinegar, and this is by personal preference. I love the lemon here, but also need a bit more of a kick than straight lemon provides. If you don’t like higher acidity, leave it out.
  • Mix while warm: it’s key to mix the salad while the potatoes are still hot. This will wilt the greens and the vinaigrette will absorb partly into the potatoes, making for a very flavourful salad.

More Asparagus Recipes

Vegan Broccoli Pizza Crust with spring vegetables
Spring Green Vegetable Coconut Rice Noodles
Green Pea Hummus
Spring Green Minestrone

If you make this Asparagus Potato Salad or any other vegetarian mains on Occasionally Eggs, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. For more OE, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, purchase the Occasionally Eggs cookbook, or subscribe for new posts via email.

Yield: 4

Asparagus New Potato Salad with Lentils

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes minutes
Total Time 50 minutes minutes
5 from 1 vote

Ingredients

Metric – American
  • 500 grams new potatoes
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 250 grams green asparagus
  • 50 grams fresh hardy greens (spinach, rucola, garlic mustard etc.)
  • 150 grams cooked le puy green lentils

Lemon Mustard Vinaigrette

  • 60 ml olive oil extra virgin
  • 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar optional
  • Juice of one lemon ~ 3 tablespoons
  • Zest of one lemon
  • 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
  • ½ teaspoon maple syrup or honey
  • 1 small clove garlic minced
  • Sea salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise if necessary so that they're all about the same size, then place onto a large baking sheet with the olive oil and salt. Mix to coat, then roast for 35-40 minutes, or until golden.
    500 grams new potatoes, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • Wash and trim the asparagus. In the last 5 minutes of cooking time for the potatoes, place the asparagus onto the oven tray with them. They should turn bright green and soften slightly.
    250 grams green asparagus
  • Take the potatoes and asparagus out of the oven and place them into a large bowl. Add the greens and lentils, then top with the lemon vinaigrette and stir to combine. Serve warm.
    50 grams fresh hardy greens (spinach, rucola, garlic mustard etc.), 150 grams cooked le puy green lentils

Lemon Mustard Vinaigrette

  • Add all ingredients to a small jar or bowl and shake or whisk to combine.
    60 ml olive oil, 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar, Juice of one lemon, Zest of one lemon, 1 teaspoon dijon mustard, 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup, 1 small clove garlic, Sea salt and pepper

* For American cup measurements, please click the pink link text above the ingredient list that says ‘American’.


Nutrition

Serving: 1 Calories: 343kcal Carbohydrates: 33g Protein: 8g Fat: 21g Saturated Fat: 3g Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g Monounsaturated Fat: 15g Sodium: 624mg Potassium: 866mg Fiber: 7g Sugar: 3g Vitamin A: 1651IU Vitamin C: 32mg Calcium: 52mg Iron: 4mg

Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.

© Alexandra Daum
Course: Mains, Salad, Spring, Summer
Cuisine: North American
Diet Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Print Pin Recipe

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Previous Post: « Carrot, Red Lentil, and Spinach Soup
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Comments

  1. Elizabeth Kaufman says

    June 16, 2020 at 2:18 am

    This is a ‘go-to’ recipe for us. Really great combination of ingredients and really filing meal with the protein of the lentils. Thanks!

    Reply
  2. The Modern Proper says

    June 4, 2018 at 10:26 pm

    Hey, good job with the new site! I know firsthand that moving a site over can be incredibly daunting. This recipe looks killer good–a very nourishing and flavorful one. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  3. Sarah Danner says

    June 1, 2018 at 11:03 pm

    Hi, Alexandra. We’re missing instructions to make this delicious looking recipe.

    Reply
    • Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says

      June 2, 2018 at 5:53 am

      Hi Sarah, thanks so much for letting me know. My recipe card glitched out while I was filling it in and then I rushed off to make dinner and didn’t check to make sure it had included everything! Of course there’s a bit of trouble with the first new recipe, hah. It’s fixed now 🙂

      Reply

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