Spring Salads: It’s time to lighten up

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY NATALIE FINDLAY

Lighter, fresher and flavourful - a salad should never be thought of as restrictive or limited. Salads can be enjoyed as an accompaniment to a main or they can fill our bellies with hearty ingredients as a stand-alone dish.

A variety of greens, such as Swiss chard, arugula, the many varieties of lettuces, spinach, and kale, create bases that can support any topping you add. New to the table are varieties of micro greens and sprouts to further add healthsupporting ingredients to the salad smorgasbord. Fresh herbs of the season create nuances in flavour. And ingredients such as beans, nuts, seeds, meats, fish, and legumes, add protein to keep you satiated and balance out your salad. It is the dressing ties all ingredients together.

The Bright Green Salad (next page) is a mix of all things green. It’s kind of fun to apply a random theme, like a colour, to a salad and see what happens. In this case, we have a mix of flavours and textures that is sure to entice. Fresh green vegetables with a mix of lettuces with a bit of bite from arugula, crunchy bits from roasted pumpkin seeds, sour flavour from a quick pickle of asparagus, chewiness from a combination of peas, edamame, cucumber, and snap peas - all topped with a creamy dressing from avocado. Just add your favourite protein for an easy and substantial meal. With these recipes you get a whisper of the potential a salad can have. The four main parts of a salad are: the base, the filling, and the toppings, plus the dressing. Get creative. The markets and grocery stores have lots of options for you to create your next best spring salad.

Broccoli Tabouli Salad

Serves 2

2 Tbs (30 mL) tahini

1 small clove garlic, grated

½ tsp ground cumin

1 Tbs (15 mL) olive oil

3 Tbs (45 mL) lemon juice, zest reserved for garnish

Pinch sea salt

2 Tbs (30 mL) water, to thin

1 cup walnuts

3 cups broccoli, 1 cup stems and 2 cups florets

1 cup parsley leaves, lightly packed

1 green onion

Pinch sea salt

10 cm cucumber

Lemon zest, for garnish

1. First make the dressing: add tahini, garlic, cumin, olive oil, lemon juice, and salt, to a small bowl and stir to combine. Thin with water for desired consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning. Set aside.

2. Toast walnuts on a baking sheet in a 300º F oven for 10 - 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove and let cool.

3. In a food processor, add walnuts and pulse a few times. Transfer into a medium bowl. You can also roughly chop the walnuts by hand.

4. In a food processor, add the broccoli stems and pulse a few times. Transfer to the bowl with the nuts. Do the same with the florets and transfer to the bowl. (You can chop into small pieces by hand as well.)

5. Roughly chop parsley and add to the bowl. Thinly slice the green onion and, you guessed it, add to the bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Season with sea salt. Stir to combine ingredients.

6. Slice cucumber thinly and add to the bowl and combine with other ingredients. To serve, scoop ingredients from the bowl onto a plate, sprinkle with lemon zest and drizzle with tahini dressing.

Bright Green Salad

Serves 2-4

½ cup (125 mL) white vinegar

2 Tbs (30 mL) rice vinegar

1 tsp sugar

4 stalks asparagus, trimmed and thinly sliced

4 - 6 leaves green lettuce of choice

1 cup arugula

4 sprigs mint leaves, stems removed

4 sprigs parsley leaves, stems removed

10 cm piece cucumber

1 cup snap peas

1 cup edamame

½ cup green peas

1 avocado

Pinch sea salt

1 lemon, zest

2 Tbs (30 mL) lemon juice

2 Tbs (30 mL) olive oil

4 Tbs (30 mL) water, or more ¼ cup toasted pumpkin seeds

1. In a small pot, add vinegars and sugar and bring to a boil.

2. In a small bowl or mason jar, add sliced asparagus to vinegar mixture and let sit at least 1 hour or overnight.

3. Roughly chop lettuces into bite sized pieces and place in a large bowl. Place mint and parsley leaves on cutting board and roughly chop, add to your bowl.

4. Using a vegetable peeler, slice the cucumbers on the length to produce thin strips and toss into the bowl. Trim snap peas and cut in half, diagonally, lengthwise.

5. In a small pot, fill ¾ with water and bring to a boil. Add the edamame and cook 4 minutes. Strain from pot and submerge edamame in ice cold water to cool. In the same pot, add the peas. Cook 2 minutes. Strain and submerge peas in ice cold water to cool. Dry peas and edamame on paper towels and add to bowl.

6. Strain out the now pickled asparagus and add to the bowl.

7. In a jar add the avocado, salt, lemon zest and juice, olive oil, and water, and blend until smooth. Add more water as necessary and thin to desired consistency.

8. Lightly toss ingredients together. To serve, empty the bowl of green goodness onto a platter. Sprinkle with pumpkin seeds and drizzle with avocado dressing.

Fingerling Potato Salad with Smoked Salmon and Dill Dressing

Serves 2-3

½ cup (125 mL) sour cream

1 lemon, zested

2 tsp (10 mL) dill pickle juice (you can sub fresh lemon juice)

2 tsp fresh dill

Pinch sea salt

11 fingerling potatoes (300g)

1 small red onion

1 stick celery, thinly sliced

¼ cup celery leaves

1 cup micro greens

1 cup Bibb lettuce

5 or 6 slices smoked salmon

Fresh dill and lemon wedges, for garnish

1. Add sour cream, lemon zest, pickle juice (or lemon juice), dill and salt in a small bowl and stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning. Set aside.

2. Cut fingerling potatoes in half. Place in a medium pot 2/3 filled with water. Turn stove up to high and bring to a boil then reduce to simmer and let potatoes cook approximately 20 minutes or until a fork pierces the potato easily.

3. In the meantime, prep the salad: thinly slice the red onion. Thinly slice the celery and remove the celery leaves from the inner stalks. Trim the micro greens and Bibb lettuce into bite-sized pieces (about 2 to 3 cm).

4. Once potatoes are cooked, drain and let dry on a paper towel.

5. Cut the smoked salmon into bite-sized pieces.

6.To serve, place all salad ingredients on a plate. Place the smoked salmon on top. Dollop the dressing on top and garnish with extra fresh dill and lemon wedges.