Grilled Feta With Asparagus Chimichurri

I haven’t been able to get Jessica Merchant’s chimichurri and pistachio grilled feta out of my head since it crossed my social media threshold a couple weeks ago. I’ve been on a green chimichurri kick (how 90s!) for the last month when I realized, that I never needed to let leftover parsley go to waste again. A bundle so easily makes a batch of one of the greatest of all the great fresh green sauces and I’ve been putting it on everything since… but feta. Until now.

It's an unapologetic agenda of passing off a big serving of cheese as a meal, simply by adding a seasonal vegetable or two. Suddenly it’s not a cheese plate, it’s a grilled salad or dreamy apero hour snack, or the kind of thing that will be as welcome of addition to any potluck this weekend as you are.

Ingredients:

• 3 large or 4 regular cloves garlic
• 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano or 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh red chili pepper or 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 4 ounce bundle flat-leaf parsley [or 1/2 cup finely-chopped leaves]
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

• 1 baguette, sliced 1/2-inch-thick on an angle
• 1 large red onion, cut into thin wedges
• 1 pound asparagus spears, trimmed
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Olive oil
• 8-ounce block feta