White Asparagus with Black Garlic Vinaigrette

This recipe utilizes some fun ingredients from our grocery store which seems to have new and interesting ingredients featured often. The two star ingredients you might not know too much about:

1.   White asparagus is grown underground which prevents the asparagus from turning green -- I      think the white asparagus has a much lighter flavor than green asparagus. 
2.   Black garlic is a type of caramelized garlic created by heating the entire bulb of garlic over a     few weeks. Black garlic is totally different than the garlic you're used to, it has a bit of a      
     molasses like taste and texture. 

Enjoy trying these new ingredients!

Recipe from Food 52.

Ingredients:

Vinaigrette

-5 cloves black garlic

-1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

-1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

-1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

-1/2 teaspoon sugar

-1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

-3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

-1 pound white asparagus, washed and trimmed

-1/2 cup toasted walnut pieces

First make the vinaigrette, add all of the ingredients except the olive oil in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Process the ingredients until the black garlic has been completely incorporated with the rest of the ingredients. With the food processor running, slowly add the olive oil, blending until the dressing has thickened. Adjust seasonings to taste. Then set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the asparagus and cook for 1 minute. Then remove the asparagus from the hot water and run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Dry the asparagus and arrange on a plate. Drizzle the prepared vinaigrette over the asparagus and top with walnuts.

This made for a nice side dish, the white asparagus has a lighter flavor than the traditional green and the black garlic helped to complement that light flavor, rather than overwhelm the delicate flavor. This recipe used up the last of the white asparagus that I had purchased, but I do still have black garlic, so look for more recipes in the future!