Spring Greens Editorial Director Lauren Barisic Photographer Don Dizon
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est Coast natives, from the Central Valley to the Central Coast, are all, to some degree, produce snobs. Now, don’t get defensive! Having high crop standards isn’t a bad thing. Agriculture is big in the state of California—the Salinas Valley is even called the “Salad Bowl of the World” in reference to the fun fact that 70% of our nation’s lettuce is grown there. Californians, especially, get to experience the bounty of each season with a cyclical abundance of fruits and vegetables. So, what better way to showcase the produce yielded by the turning calendar than by making one of the most universally diverse dishes known to humankind? Behold, the humble salad! The variations that salads offer are truly infinite. Eat the season—challenge yourself to experience all that the Golden State’s spring has to offer by curating your own leafy medleys using what’s available at your local market or roadside fruit stand. Remember, there is no wrong recipe for a salad—you can’t mess it up! Start with what’s in season, pick a leaf or two or more, make sure there’s some crunch, add a protein if you prefer, and MerriamWebster highly encourages the presence of a dressing. The following is an assortment of three seasonally inspired salads to get your creative juices flowing for the warm weather kick-off.
