Crispy Coconut, Asparagus and Green Bean Salad | Yotom Ottolenghi

We welcome spring and mother’s day with a crispy coconut, asparagus and green bean salad. The seasonal asparagus has no rival at this time of the year. I like to bring out the freshness of asparagus in its true essence — without any bells and whistles. To make it more substantial for a mother’s day brunch, Ottolenghi adds green beans to the mix. To top it off, the sweet and spicy crispy coconut and almonds sprinkle is roughly based on serundeng, an Indonesian condiment.

I find it all a magnificent celebration of asparagus: a raucous symphony, with the vegetable in plain sight, no apologies and definitely no need for anxiety.

~ Yotam Ottolenghi

The New York Times Magazine, May 14, 2023

There are three steps in preparing the salad: branching the vegetables, making the salad dressing and toasting the topping. Clearly, there are options in cooking the vegetables. Branching is one (as in the recipe) which involves cooking the vegetables in boiling water. However, the vegetables need to go through the subsequent steps of a cold wash and then air dry. A second method is to roast the asparagus spears which gives it a smoky flavor. In fact, this is my go-to minimalist approach which I do all the time. It’s best done at a very high oven temperature (425°F), for only about 10 minutes. The outside blisters and cooks while the inside stays crisp. There’s a lot of room to play!

I find the sweet and spicy flavor of coconut and almonds topping appealing and exciting. Toasting the shredded coconut and sliced almonds, together with sugar and chili flakes, takes only minutes. So don’t walk away when toasting the nuts. In addition, every salad needs a crispy element. It’s not to be missed. Surely, I’d pull all the stops to make this a special salad to celebrate spring and mother’s day.

Print Recipe

Crispy Coconut, Asparagus and Green Bean Salad

Ingredients

• Fine sea salt
• 8 ounces asparagus, trimmed
• 8 ounces green beans, trimmed
• ½ teaspoon finely grated lime zest plus 2 tablespoons juice (from 2 limes)
• 2 tablespoons grape seed oil or another neutral oil
• 4 teaspoons white miso
• 2 teaspoons maple syrup
• ½ cup sliced almonds
• ⅓ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons Aleppo chile flakes or 1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
• 8 breakfast radishes, trimmed and quartered
• 3 tablespoons torn fresh cilantro leaves with tender stems

Instructions

1

Blanch the vegetabes: Fill a medium saucepan with well salted water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the asparagus and boil for 2 minutes, then add the green beans and cook for 2 minutes more, until the asparagus is tender but the green beans have a slight bite. Drain in a colander set in the sink and rinse under cold water until completely cool. Leave to drain and air dry.

2

Make the dressing: Whisk the lime zest and juice, oil, miso and maple syrup in a large bowl to combine.

3

Make the coconut topping: Toast the almonds in a small skillet over a medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until light brown. Stir in the coconut, sugar, chile and ½ teaspoon salt and toast for another minute, stirring constantly, until the coconut turns golden brown, then transfer to a small bowl to cool completely.

4

Add the asparagus, green beans, radishes and cilantro to the dressing and mix to combine. Stir in all but 1 tablespoon of the coconut topping. Transfer to a shallow serving bowl, sprinkle with the remaining coconut topping and serve immediately.