ASPARAGUS WITH HAZELNUT OIL & ORANGE DRESSING

Vinaigrettes made with hazelnut oil have warm notes from the oil’s delicate nuttiness and pair particularly well with green vegetables. Here grilled spring asparagus spears are coated and complemented in a dressing with the sweet juice of an orange. Quickly blanching the asparagus before grilling maintains a moist fleshy stem while gaining the benefits of a light smokiness and charring from the grill plate.  The asparagus could be easily subbed out for say, grilled beans, or soft leafy greens tossed with thin slices of a firm Packam pear. For extra acid tang, replace the orange juice with sherry or red wine vinegar.

serves 4 as a side dish

500g thick asparagus spears

Extra virgin olive oil for brushing spears

Sea salt flakes

2 tablespoons roasted skinned hazelnuts, coarsely chopped

Dressing:

¼ cup (60ml) hazelnut oil

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Place all dressing ingredients in a screw top jar and shake vigorously to combine. Set aside.

Pre-heat a barbecue or cast-iron grill plate over a medium to high heat. Have ready a kettle of boiling water.

Snap off the tough woody ends from base of asparagus spears and discard (The breaking point is usually about 3cm-4cm from base of stem). Place spears in a deep jug with tips pointing up. Pour in enough boiling water to come up to about 6cm under the tips, set side 2 minutes to lightly blanch the thick stems, then immediately drain.

Brush olive oil all over asparagus to coat evenly. Arrange side-by-side over the hot grill plate, sprinkle with generous pinch of sea salt  and cook 2 minutes then turn over and cook other side 2 minutes, or until just tender with lightly charred grill marks. Transfer to serving plate and pour over half of the dressing while still warm. Scatter over hazelnuts and serve straight away with the remaining dressing to pass around.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Recipe by Fiona Hammond, October 2026