Roasted Asparagus & Pickled Egg Salad with Olives, Quinoa

• This recipe? It’s extra—but extra delicious. You can make most of it ahead of time, so here's the game plan to save you time: First, make that toasted quinoa—it’ll keep in the fridge for about a month. Then, Pink Pickled Eggs—you’ve got up to 2 weeks for pickling magic. While those eggs get their flavor on, whip up the Pickle Brine Salad Dressing (hello, zero waste!), which keeps for 2 weeks also. As for the roasted asparagus, well, it’s perfect for about 3 days in the fridge. Prep ahead and be the kitchen MVP.

Pink Pickled Eggs

• Grab 3 cold, week-old large eggs (because fresh ones are too clingy). Place them in a small saucepan, covering them with 1 inch of water. Remove the eggs, toss in 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and bring that water to a boil. Magic is about to happen. Welcome to Hogwarts!
• Carefully drop the eggs back into the boiling water—no cold starts here! Hot water is your secret weapon to less clingy egg whites. It makes the whites set fast and pull away from the shell like they’re just done with it.
• Why older eggs? Here’s the tea: The acidity in fresh eggs makes the proteins in the whites bond to the shell’s inner membrane like a stage 5 clinger. That’s why my poaching egg hack works—vinegar's acidity helps the whites firm up. Less acidity means less bonding. And less bonding means that shell slides off like it’s got better places to be. So, go for those older eggs! Over time, eggs leak carbon dioxide, raising the pH and lowering the acidity, which makes peeling a breeze. Boom.
• Baking soda, being alkaline (aka the complete opposite of acidic), steps in to bump up the pH even more, making those boiled eggs peel even easier.
• Boil those eggs for 6 minutes for a perfect jammy yolk.
• Send those eggs straight polar bear plunge for at least 10 minutes—cool them down so they stop cooking. That cold ice bath makes the egg whites pull away from the shell, like they’re done with this whole thing.
• Tap, crack, and roll to gently peel them. One at a time, dunk the eggs back into the water bath while peeling them—the water helps lift the shell clean off like magic. Right now, you’re the Dumbeldore of hard boiled eggs.
• Faucets crank out about a gallon of water a minute, so peeling them under a running faucet wastes so much water.
• To make the brine: Grab the saucepan you just boiled those eggs, no need for dishpan hands just yet. Toss in ½ cup vinegar, ½ teaspoon sea salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, 3 cloves garlic, 1 minced shallot, and 8 ounces of beet juice. This is how we reduce food waste like a pro—using up that leftover beet juice from the can.
• Bring the mixture to a boil, remove from heat, and let it cooldown until warm.
• Add the peeled eggs to the brine and let them pickle for at least a day—though, honestly, they can hang out in that brine for up to 2 weeks in the fridge. The longer they sit, the better they get.
• After the eggs are pickled, you can use the leftover marinade for a homemade salad dressing.

Roasted Asparagus

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Trim 1 pound asparagus and add it to a rimmed baking sheet in an even layer.
• Drizzle 2 tablespoons of grapeseed oil over the asparagus and shake the baking sheet, allowing the asparagus to roll around like Turkish oil wrestlers, until fully coated.
• Sprinkle 1 tablespoon lemon pepper over the asparagus.
• Transfer to the oven and bake for 10 minutes.

Pickle Brine Salad Dressing

• Whisk together 2 tablespoons of Pink Pickled Egg brine, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, ¼ cup olive oil, a pinch of sea salt, and some cracked black pepper.

Roasted Asparagus & Pickled Egg Salad

• Plate 6 cups of spring salad mix, add in the roasted asparagus, ¼ cup green peas, 1 large radish sliced, and 1 avocado cut into cubes—make it look like a salad that knows it’s fancy.
• Mix ¼ cup goat cheese with 1 teaspoon of fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme, or dill—whatever you've got. You can even use dry herbs if you’re feeling like a rebel. Then, add that creamy goat cheese to the salad.
• Slice up the Pink Pickled Eggs and add them to the salad. Don’t ditch that leftover brine—it’s perfect for future salads or roasted veggies. Waste not, want not!
• Slice up ⅓ cup of ripe California green olives and toss them right into the salad. They’re the perfect salty bite to elevate the whole dish.
• Add the Pickle Brine Salad Dressing.
• Toast 1 tablespoon of rinsed quinoa in a dry pan over medium heat for 5 minutes. Keep it moving until it smells nutty and turns golden brown—some grains might pop, and that’s just the quinoa getting excited. Add it to the salad.
• Enjoy!