asparagus and egg salad

original recipe

ingredients

• 4 large eggs, cold from fridge
• ¹⁄₂ cup (1 ounce or 30 grams) grated parmesan cheese
• ¹⁄₂ cup (2 ounces or 55 grams) finely chopped lightly well-toasted walnuts
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Dried chile flakes
• 1 pound asparagus, any thickness, tough ends trimmed
• About ¹⁄₄ cup fresh lemon juice
• ¹⁄₄ cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves, chopped
• ¹⁄₄ cup olive oil, preferably extra-virgin

instructions

• Bring a small/medium pot of water to boil. Gently lower in eggs and reduce heat to a simmer. Boil for 8 ¹⁄₂ minutes, then quickly transfer eggs to an ice-cold water bath. Leave them there while you prepare the other ingredients, but ideally at least 10 minutes.
• Place parmesan, walnuts, and lemon zest in the bottom of a large bowl, along with 1 teaspoon salt, many grind of black pepper, and about ¹⁄₂ teaspoon chile flakes (or more or less to taste; I used half because: kids). Stir to combine.
• Cut the asparagus on a sharp angle into very thin slices and add to the parmesan mixture. Add ¹⁄₄ cup lemon juice and toss some more. Taste and adjust the flavors to your preference by adding more salt, black pepper, chile flakes, or lemon juice, and go a little bit heavy, so the flavors don’t disappear once you add the eggs. Add mint and olive oil toss, adjusting seasoning again.
• Peel your cooled eggs. Cut in half, then each half into 6 to 8 chunks. Add to bowl with asparagus and give it one or two gentle stirs (I don’t want to get them too mashed up here).
• Eat as is, or scoop onto 6 to 8 toasts or 3 large matzo sheets, halved into 6 more manageable “toasts” (obviously this would negate the gluten-free categorization).