Spring is here ladies and gentleman!!! That special time each year when Chicago has actually had good weather for longer than a week, yay! In honor of Spring and the sunshine and seventy degree weather, I made a salad that is full of spring veggie goodness and complete with a spicy, sweet Honey Ginger Vinaigrette.
You can customize this salad with any other vegetables that you pick up from the store or farmers market that look good. The awesome thing here is that in the spring, greens are in season! Greens, greens, all kinds of greens. Toss any boring lettuce out of the window, go down to the store and find an interesting mix. The one I used when I made this even had spicy greens in it … Yum!
For the vegetables here I did beets which are one of my absolute favorite and are perfect and sweet in the spring time. Blanched asparagus and snap peas add a delicious crunchiness and fresh herbs give it a bold fresh flavor.
Finally, this is topped with creamy avocado and sweet, citrusy grapefruit! For the grapefruit, the best way to cut it is to peel it and then follow the veins from the outside and slice around it. Don’t worry if it starts falling apart, grapefruits can be difficult to deal with but they’re worth it because they’re so delicious.
You can make this salad ahead for the week and store the green and veggies separately from the grapefruit and avocado. Just add those toppings when you are ready to serve. It’s great for lunches so toss it up, sit outside and enjoy the spring!
Until Next Time,
Jackie
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Spring Vegetable Salad with Honey Ginger Vinaigrette
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 45 mins
- Yield: 10 servings 1x
- Category: Salad, Dinner
- Cuisine: Seasonal, Vegetarian, Vegan
Description
Crispy green spring vegetables tossed with sweet roasted beets, fresh herbs and crunchy pumpkin seeds and pistachios. This salad is perfectly complimented by the spicy, sweet Honey Ginger Vinaigrette.
Ingredients
Scale
- 3 beets, cooked and sliced into eighths
- 1 bunch asparagus, cleaned and cut in thirds
- 1 cup snap peas
- 3 cups mixed greens
- 3 scallions, sliced
- 8 radishes, sliced into thin rounds
- 1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1/2 cup pistachios crushed
- 1/4 cups pumpkin seeds
- 1 grapefruit, peeled and sliced
- 1 avocado, sliced
- Goat cheese or feta cheese (optional)
- Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tbs lemon zest
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tbs fresh ginger, minced
- 2 tbs white balsamic vinaigrette
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- pinch of salt and pepper
Instructions
- Start by cooking the beets because they take the longest. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Peel the skin off the beets and cut them into eighths. Place them on a large baking sheet and toss in olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake for 30 minutes until the beets start to soften but are crisp on the edges.
- While the beets are cooking, cook the asparagus and snap peas. Prepare a large bowl as an ice bath and set aside. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. When it’s boiling, drop the asparagus in first. Cook for 4-5 minutes until the asparagus turn bright green but are still a little crunchy. Using a slotted spoon or strainer, remove the asparagus and transfer directly to the ice bath. Repeat this process with the peas, you can use the same water. The peas only take 3 minutes to cook.
- Make the dressing by whisking together all of the ingredients in a small bowl, set it aside.
- Assemble the salad. Toss together the asparagus, snap peas, beets, greens, scallions, radishes, mint, parsley, pistachios and pumpkin seeds. Pour the dressing over and continue to toss until all the ingredients are coated. Top each bowl with grapefruit, avocado and the cheese if you are using it.
- You can keep the greens, vegetable and herb based of the salad in the fridge in a bowl for a week and then just toss with the dressing and add the toppings when you’re about to eat!
