Low-Carb Curried Chicken Salad with Asparagus and Pine Nuts

Directions

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Hold one piece of asparagus in both hands and bend until it snaps to see where the woody part ends; then trim all the asparagus to that length. Cut asparagus on the diagonal into pieces and then cook in salted water for 3 minutes. While you're waiting for water to come to a boil and cooking asparagus, zest the lemon and then cut lemon in half and squeeze the juice. Whisk together buttermilk , mayo, lemon juice, curry powder, Dijon mustard, lemon zest and sea salt to make the curry dressing. Start with the original amount of lemon juice and zest and taste to see if you want a bit more lemon. After it cooks exactly three minutes, drain asparagus into a colander placed in the sink and let it drain well. Then lay out a paper towel on the counter and spread out the asparagus on the towel. Then cover with another paper towel and gently press down to blot away much water as possible. Let asparagus cool while you cut up enough cooked chicken to make 4 cups. Slice green onions on the diagonal and measure out the pine nuts Combine diced chicken and asparagus with desired amount of dressing; you may not need all the dressing if you prefer your salads to be fairly dry. Gently stir in the green onion and pine nuts. Season the finished salad to taste with salt and fresh-ground black pepper, and serve. This salad can be kept in the fridge for a few hours before serving, and it was still amazing as leftovers when it had been in the fridge overnight, so if you're cooking for a few people you could certainly double the recipe. If you have any extra dressing you might want to add a bit more right when you serve the salad.