A super salad for a sunny summer day! Brix Restaurant and Gardens in the Napa Valley is truly a wine country classic. Veggie lovers will love the dueling asparagus…
For the asparagus:
Bring a large stock pot of salted water to boil. Blanch the white asparagus for 3-5 minutes until cooked and plunge into an iced water bath. Remove onto towels to dry and repeat with the green asparagus. Chill & reserve.
For the pickled pearl onions:
With a sharp knife or mandolin, slice the pearl onions as thin as possible while still holding their complete round shape. Combine the vinegar, water & sugar in a saucepan, bring to a boil & pour over the pearl onion slices. Cool at room temperature & chill.
For the croutons:
Pre-heat the oven to 375° F. Arrange on a sheet pan and toast until golden, about 4 minutes. Reserve.
For the quail eggs:
Add the quail eggs to a small sauce pan gently, being careful not to crack them, add enough cold water to cover them, a pinch of salt, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let the eggs cook for three minutes. Plunge into an iced water bath, chill & peel, Cut into halves & reserve.
For the gribiche sauce:
Hard boil the eggs for ten minutes. Cool, peel and chop. Combine all the ingredients together & season with sea salt and black pepper.
To plate:
Spread equal amounts of gribiche onto four chilled plates, reaching the rims, but being careful to not over sauce. Trim the asparagus into equal lengths that fit within the rims of the plates & arrange the side by side alternating between green and white, 4 of each color asparagus to one plate. Garnish with the croutons, pickled pearl onions and three quail egg halves per plate. Garnish with a little extra virgin olive oil over the plates & serve.
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Ingredients
Asparagus
- 16 stalks green asparagus, peeled
- 16 stalks white asparagus, peeled
Pickled Pearl Onions
- 6 each red pearl onion, peeled
- ¼ cup Champagne vinegar
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons sugar
Croutons
- 2 thin slices brioche, diced into ½ inch cubes
Quail Eggs
- 6 each quail eggs
Gribiche Sauce
- 2 whole eggs
- ¼ cup chopped tarragon
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon chopped capers
- 1 tablespoon cornichons
- 1 tablespoon chopped shallots
- Juice from ½ Meyer lemon
- 1 cup home-made aioli or prepared mayonnaise