Asparagus with Blue Cheese

Asparagus with blue cheese is the kind of side dish that turns up at a smart dinner party and makes everyone ask for the recipe. Six ingredients, no roasting pan required, and a flavor profile (funky, tangy, oniony, peppery) that pairs with everything from grilled steak to roast chicken.

The trick to this dish is dressing the asparagus while it is still hot. The warmth of the spears half-melts the blue cheese into the red wine vinaigrette, creating a clingy, creamy coating instead of dry crumbles that fall to the plate.

Letting the salad sit until tepid (not cold, not hot) is intentional. Cold dulls the blue cheese and seizes the olive oil. Tepid is when the flavors marry and bloom.

Use a strong, well-aged Roquefort, Stilton, or Gorgonzola Piccante. Mild supermarket blue gets lost against the asparagus and vinegar.

Chef Tips

• Snap the asparagus where it bends naturally instead of measuring with a knife. The break finds the boundary between tender and woody automatically.
• Use white pepper, not black, as the recipe calls for. Black pepper looks like dirt against pale dressing and asparagus tips. White pepper has a sharper, hotter profile that works with blue cheese.
• Choose medium-thick spears (about pencil-width). Thin spears overcook in seconds; very thick spears need peeling to soften evenly.
• Don’t toss aggressively when dressing. Gentle turns keep the spears intact and the cheese clinging.

Variations

• Add toasted sliced almonds or pine nuts for crunch.
• Swap red wine vinegar for sherry vinegar for a deeper, more caramelly background.
• Lay the dressed asparagus over a slice of toasted sourdough rubbed with garlic for an open-face lunch.