Spring Fling Salad
So I understand that it’s not quite spring yet but I really can’t help myself when the skies are sunny, the temperature 7 degrees and a produce section overflowing with asparagus. Once I had them in my basket I had to find something lovely and light to apply them to. That’s the best thing about really great produce, just finding some can inspire something to create something entirely new and who could say no to these beauties? Man I love food.
So I had the asparagus but now what? How did I want this to play out? For me a salad needs to have a roundness in both flavour and texture. It’s all well and good to have something that tastes really good but without some solid acoustics to back it up (crunch, crunch, crunch) it falls flat. So, after way too much time pacing the produce aisle I produced this.
It’s got a little softness in the greens, crunch in the fennel and walnuts, sweetness in the grapes, green in the asparagus and edamame, heat from the red onion and the all important acid from the lemon to balance it all out. Given that I ate half a loaf of Lemon Poppy Seed Bread yesterday, this was exactly what I needed. Hope you enjoy this little flirtation as much as I did.
Would Rather Gather Original, serves 4
Prep Time: 25 minutes / Active Time: 5 minutes
For the Salad:
6 cups of spring greens, washed and dried
1/2 fennel bulb, very thinly sliced into half moons
1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced into half moons
1 bunch thin to medium asparagus spears, trimmed*
1 cup edamame beans (frozen is actually preferable here)
1 cup red seedless grapes
1 cup spiced toasted walnuts
1 tbsp fresh chives, snipped
*tips should be 1.5 inches and the remainder of the stalks cut into 1 inch sections
For the Dressing:
1 small shallot very finely diced
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp grainy mustard
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil
sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste
Method:
1. Make dressing by placing all ingredients in a bowl and whisk or use an immersion blender to puree until emulsified or creamy. Chill in refrigerator until ready to use.
2. Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil and cook asparagus and edamame until they’re firm but tender, approx. 3-4 minutes. Once they’re cooked, submerge them in a bowl of iced water to halt to cooking process and keep them crisp. Drain aside.
3. Drain and pat dry asparagus and edamame then combine all salad ingredients in a large salad bowl. Add enough dressing to lightly coat the entire salad, toss and serve garnished with spiced, toasted walnuts.
Add some toasted crusty bread slathered with Earth Balance Butter you’re good as golden.
NOTE: If you’ve never worked with asparagus before, you may not know you can’t use the entire spear. The bottoms are quite woody and tough. To ensure you’re only working with the usable parts, hold the each end of the spear in your hands and bend until it breaks. Everything attached to the tip goes in your belly. Everything attached to the end goes in the bin. Cool?
So I had the asparagus but now what? How did I want this to play out? For me a salad needs to have a roundness in both flavour and texture. It’s all well and good to have something that tastes really good but without some solid acoustics to back it up (crunch, crunch, crunch) it falls flat. So, after way too much time pacing the produce aisle I produced this.
It’s got a little softness in the greens, crunch in the fennel and walnuts, sweetness in the grapes, green in the asparagus and edamame, heat from the red onion and the all important acid from the lemon to balance it all out. Given that I ate half a loaf of Lemon Poppy Seed Bread yesterday, this was exactly what I needed. Hope you enjoy this little flirtation as much as I did.
Would Rather Gather Original, serves 4Prep Time: 25 minutes / Active Time: 5 minutes
For the Salad:
6 cups of spring greens, washed and dried
1/2 fennel bulb, very thinly sliced into half moons
1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced into half moons
1 bunch thin to medium asparagus spears, trimmed*
1 cup edamame beans (frozen is actually preferable here)
1 cup red seedless grapes
1 cup spiced toasted walnuts
1 tbsp fresh chives, snipped
*tips should be 1.5 inches and the remainder of the stalks cut into 1 inch sections
For the Dressing:
1 small shallot very finely diced
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp grainy mustard
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil
sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste
Method:
1. Make dressing by placing all ingredients in a bowl and whisk or use an immersion blender to puree until emulsified or creamy. Chill in refrigerator until ready to use.
2. Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil and cook asparagus and edamame until they’re firm but tender, approx. 3-4 minutes. Once they’re cooked, submerge them in a bowl of iced water to halt to cooking process and keep them crisp. Drain aside.
3. Drain and pat dry asparagus and edamame then combine all salad ingredients in a large salad bowl. Add enough dressing to lightly coat the entire salad, toss and serve garnished with spiced, toasted walnuts.
Add some toasted crusty bread slathered with Earth Balance Butter you’re good as golden.
NOTE: If you’ve never worked with asparagus before, you may not know you can’t use the entire spear. The bottoms are quite woody and tough. To ensure you’re only working with the usable parts, hold the each end of the spear in your hands and bend until it breaks. Everything attached to the tip goes in your belly. Everything attached to the end goes in the bin. Cool?
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