Asparagus Salad with Walnuts and Manchego

Asparagus is usually cooked in any number of ways, but it’s also delicious raw. Its flavor is sweet and grassy and its texture fresh and snappy. To prep the spears for this salad, we slice the spears no thicker than ¼ inch on the diagonal to shorten the long fibers, which are sometimes tough. If you have options at the market, choose asparagus that is no thicker than a pencil and pass on wispy, ultra-thin spears.