Fresh seared Asparagus topped with a delicious flavour-packed Radish top chimichurri and topped with crispy seeds. This Asparagus dish is quick and easy and makes a great Spring side dish to accompany your meals. Add fresh in-season herbs and greens to adapt to suit. This Chimichurri green sauce is one of my favourites and is packed with flavour! Asparagus is ready in Spring and is the perfect balance between a light yet hearty side dish. Top with radish flowers for a pop of spring colour!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Spring is all about fresh greens and easy meals, and this recipe ticks all the boxes. Asparagus is one of the first vegetables to pop up after winter and is always a sign that the garden is waking up. Cooking it simply—seared, grilled, or pan-fried—lets its natural flavour shine.
Pairing it with a chimichurri made from radish tops makes this dish both flavourful and low-waste. Radish greens are often overlooked, but they’re peppery, nutrient-rich, and perfect for green sauces like this.
Low-Waste, High-Flavour
This chimichurri can be adapted with whatever fresh herbs or leafy greens you have on hand—think parsley, coriander, lemon balm, or even carrot tops. A handful of toasted seeds (like sunflower or pepitas) adds texture, while soft, chewy dates bring a lovely balance of sweetness.
For a final flourish, top with delicate radish flowers or other edible blooms from your garden to highlight the beauty of spring produce.
Asparagus with Radish Top Chimichurri, toasted Seeds and Dates
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Light, fresh, and packed full of flavour, this grilled Asparagus is the ultimate Spring side dish. Topped with crispy seeds, chilli, and dates for a sweet and spicy punch.
Ingredients
1 large bunch of Asparagus
1 red chilli
2 TSP seeds (sunflower and/or pumpkin)
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp Olive Oil
2 Pitted Dates
Radish top Chimichurri
1 cup greens (Medium - young leaves Radish leaves and Parsley)*
1 1/2 TBSP lemon juice
1 TBSP Red Wine Vinegar
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1 tsp Sugar
2-3 Garlic Cloves
Sea salt flakes to season
Fresh Red Chilli or 1/4 tsp chilli flakes
Instructions
Rinse Asparagus, hold the bottom, and bend to snap. The spears will snap at the freshest part. Add oil to a grill or fry pan and cook Asparagus until lightly charred, bright green, and still a little crunchy.
Add Greens (Radish tops and Parsley), Lemon juice, Vinegar, Sugar, and Garlic to a mixer or mortar and pestle. I prefer a mortar and pestle as I like it chunky and not to blended. Blitz or crush to combine and make a green sauce.
Then gradually add oil to combine. Add Chilli flakes and a pinch of Sea Salt Flakes. Taste and balance with more salt or sugar if needed.
Remove Asparagus from the pan when cooked and add in the seeds and sliced dates (optional for those that like a bit of sweetness). Lightly toast until slightly golden.
Add Asparagus to a plate and drizzle over the green sauce. Garnish with toasted seeds, sliced red chilli, lemon zest, and edible flowers (I used Radish and cornflowers)
Notes
Swap Parsley or Radish tops for Fennel fronds, Carrot tops, Corriander, or a mix.
A Celebration of Spring on a Plate
This dish is proof that you don’t need fancy ingredients to create something beautiful and delicious. It’s quick to throw together, makes use of food scraps that might otherwise be tossed, and looks stunning on the plate. Perfect for a shared meal, a garden lunch, or a seasonal celebration.
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I have been wanting to make this vegetarian “pulled pork” for a while now and of course, I had to put my own Holly’s Kitchen experiment twist on it and make the dough pink! I was sent some of Vinofoods delicious Merlot BBQ sauce to try for the #vinofoodchallenge and it was AMAZING! This sauce is hand-made at the Lake House Denmark in Western Australia. They have a beautiful range of small-batch, handcrafted Sauces and Condiments.
This recipe is easy and such a fun meal to make if you are entertaining or even cooking with kids. The “vegetarian pulled pork” is so quick and easy to make with ONLY 3 ingredients and could be used on many other dishes such as burgers, wraps or tacos!
Pizza Dough Ingredients (makes 4)
1 1/2 cups Beetroot Juice (approx 4 Beetroots) – or replace with water for plain dough
4 cups Plain Flour
2 tsp Dry Active Yeast
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt
1 TBS Olive Oil
Vegetarian Pulled Pork Ingredients
1 Onion ( i used half red and half white)
1/2 Bottle Vinofood Merlot Barbecue Sauce 280g – HERE
1 can Organic Young Jackfruit (CeresOrganics)
Pizza Toppings
Tomato paste
Fresh herbs (pizza thyme, oregano)
Cheese
Tomato
Mushroom
Method
Juice the Beetroot. I used 4 medium-sized Beetroot and it worked out nearly the perfect amount. If you don’t quite have enough you could add water, it may just mute the colour a little. Set the juice aside. I also put the pulp in an airtight container and use throughout the week in smoothies, curry or anything really! #zerowaste
Place the beetroot juice in a saucepan and heat slightly so that it lukewarm. Measure into a mixing bowl to ensure you have 1 1/2 cups (add water if you are short).
Add the yeast and sugar to the beetroot juice and stir well. Cover and set aside for 10mins. This will start to froth so make sure your bowl or jug has plenty of room spare.
In a mixing bowl sift flour, add olive oil, salt and slowly mix in the beetroot juice to form a dough.
On a floured bench form the dough into a ball and sprinkle with more flour as needed until it is combined and no longer sticky. Place dough in a clean floured bowl, cover and place in a warm spot to rise for 1-2 hours.
While you wait for the dough you can prepare your vegetarian pulled pork. I used this amount to make 2 pizzas but it could stretch to 4 just depends how much topping you like. I rolled out my two extra bases and froze them for future use.
Cut the onions and brown in a pan with a little olive oil.
Rinse and drain the can of jackfruit and add to the pan once the onions have browned. Stir and cook through for a few minutes then simply add the Merlot BBQ sauce. I also added about 1/2 cup water. Stir and start to break up the jackfruit by mashing down with a spoon or spatular. It should start to break apart similar to pulled pork.
Simmer on medium heat for 5 minutes until the chunks of jackfruit are separated. Turn off, cover and set aside.
Once the dough has risen. Place on a floured bench and cut into 4 even size pieces. Roll out each base using flour as needed to stop it sticking.
Preheat oven to 200degrees Celcius.
Place your pizzas on an oven tray (lightly dust with flour) and add your toppings. Start with a few teaspoons of Tomato paste, herbs then add BBQ jackfruit, tomato, mushroom and top with cheese.
Place in the oven and cook until dough is crispy – approx 10-15mins
To serve I added some edible flowers…I would also suggest an extra drizzle of BBQ sauce because it is so good!
MY GARDENING ESSENTIALS // Fertiliser spray gun: https://bit.ly/366nL1t Retractable Hose: https://bit.ly/2TSC0Bo More gardening tools: https://bit.ly/32IQmbD
DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting my page so I can continue to provide you with free content!
DISCLAIMER: Links included on this page might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting my channel so I can continue to provide you with free content each week.
Nasturtium is in absolute abundance in my garden right now and I want to learn how to make the most of this fruitful time. I think learning how to use a plant is just as important as learning how to grow it. This month I have been exploring lots of different ways to use Nasturtium. Nasturtium mini quiches are so quick, easy, and taste delicious. Get the most out of your garden by growing things that have a multitude of uses to really help you maximise your space.
Nasturtium Mini Quiche
12 Medium – Large Nasturtium Leaves
Quiche Mix
5 eggs
1/4 cup milk or cream (i used coconut cream)
1/2 cup water
Salt and Pepper to season
Whisk Quiche mix in a bowl and set aside.
Fillings
Red onion
Feta
Spring onion
Marinated olives
Red capsicum
Parsley
Broccoli
Rainbow Chard
Grated Cheese
Finely chop your filling vegetables. I overshot how many veggies I needed. My muffin trays are on the smaller side and you don’t need much to fill them. So just chop a little bit and you can always chop more if needed. You could add any vegetables you have available these are just what I had.
Assembly
Preheat Oven to 170-180 degrees celsius.
Grease a muffin tray well with oil.
Place your Nasturtium leaves top side down.
Add your filling (except grated cheese), just a couple of pieces of each as it will soon fill up.
Using a measuring cup or jug pour your Quiche mix in and try not to fill over the top of the leaves.
Sprinkle with grated cheese.
Bake for 30mins or until the filling has been set.
Remove and allow to cool for 10mins.
Carefully remove from trays using a spoon. You may need to run a knife around the top of the cheese has stuck to the sides.
Please note my recipes are more of a guide.. ( I am not a technically accurate baker, I just wing it).
If you have plenty of Nasturtiums check out my other recipes.
You can share your version on Instagram using #sustainablehollyskitchen or tag me @sustainable_holly so I can see your beautiful creations!!
Holly 🌱
MY GARDENING ESSENTIALS // Fertiliser spray gun: https://bit.ly/366nL1t Retractable Hose: https://bit.ly/2TSC0Bo More gardening tools: https://bit.ly/32IQmbD
DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting my page so I can continue to provide you with free content!
