Barbra Austin

This salad is stupidly delicious.

For the past two years I have eaten at Barbuto almost every week, excepting, of course, those times that I was away from New York. Just a quick walk up Washington Street from my apartment, it has been my local, my go-to, my I-am-too-lazy-to-cook-tonight solution, serving the kind of food that I could never get tired of: Seasonal, loosely Italian, flavorful and fresh, with well-sourced ingredients.

I eat in restaurants regularly. I love cooking big meals for friends. But when I am home alone, this is the kind of thing that I like to eat.

I initially published this about a year ago, from Paris, where asparagus was on abundant display at every market. At Union Square the other day I was happy to see that the tri-state crop had finally come in, and I thought I’d revisit the idea of asperges crues.