By now, you may have had your fill of simply steamed or roasted asparagus.  I haven’t yet, but I can see that day coming.

Every spring, I gorge on plump asparagus spears from the farmers markets.  I adore the grassy freshness and pure green flavor of just-cut stalks.  Nothing tastes quite so much like spring.

But somewhere along the line, I always begin thinking of the other things I might do with those beautiful spears.  This year, my thoughts turned to shaved asparagus salad.

It began with this video from Chow.  I had never really considered the idea of asparagus in the raw before, but the ribbons of shaved asparagus looked so good, they begged for a salad that made the most of their fresh flavor.

Shaving the stalks lengthwise with a Y-shaped peeler produces paper-thin strips that don’t require any cooking at all. Marinate them in a lemony vinaigrette for an hour or so before serving, and the ribbons soften, their grassy flavor mellowing into the essence of spring.

In this substantial salad, I’ve teamed the asparagus with its classic partnerss, eggs and ham.  In this case, it’s salty prosciutto and hard-boiled eggs.

Preparing the asparagus takes a little time, but the rest of the salad comes together quickly.  Lay a stalk down on the counter and proceed to peel it in layers lengthwise.  When the stalk gets very thin, you may have to raise the stalk a little on the handle of a wooden spoon to give the blade room to maneuver.    Once you have a pile of ribbons, you’re ready to go.

I’ve added preserved lemon to the dressing to deepen the flavor.  It’s a wonderful savory condiment to have waiting in the refrigerator.  If you’d like to make your own, check out this earlier post.  Mark Bittman offered an even quicker variation in the New York Times a couple of years ago.

Of course, you could always just grate some fresh zest into the dressing.  Just don’t miss the delights of raw asparagus.