Food Simple Salads for Spring

Cucumber Radish Salad with Creamy Yogurt Dill Dressing

YIELDS: 6 servings | PREP TIME: 15 min

INGREDIENTS:

*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market

• 2 cucumbers*

• 6 radishes*, sliced thin

• 3/4 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt*

• 1/2 of a lemon, juiced

• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped dill*

Who’sready for strawberries? How about the season’s rst cool, fresh cucumbers? Crisp greens? Flavorful fennel? Every day, local farms harvest the freshest avors of spring. So stroll through the pavilions of High Rock Park and ll your market basket because the culinary possibilities are endless!

The crisp sweetness of spring fruit and vegetables can be enjoyed as a main course or as a side dish, along with grass-fed beef, pork chops, farm-raised chicken, or a hearty mushroom main. And the best part of spring cooking is the simplicity. Minimal effort is required to make flavors sing; the bulk is prepping the fruit and vegetables and putting them into a bowl. In creating a balanced spring salad, tasting is required to ensure the flavors are balanced with an acid, like tangy citrus or vinegar, and then seasoned with salt and pepper taste. Sweetness is optional; if desired, honey and maple syrup are excellent options. However, dressings can be as simple as local Greek yogurt or olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Fresh herbs are ideal in uncooked foods; their flavors brighten and elevate fruits and vegetable combinations in spring salads. Parsley, chives, basil, and dill can often be used interchangeably. Mint lends a distinctive flavor depending on the salad. Now let’s talk about spring’s fruit and vegetable stars available at the Wednesday and Saturday markets - winning combinations for salads. Strawberries, greens (from spinach to bok choy to lettuce mix), beets, radishes, fennel, cabbage, carrots, parsnips, and even the last of spring’s asparagus. e Saratoga Farmers Market is 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Saturdays in the food court of the Wilton Mall. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for previews of what’s fresh.

• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/2 teaspoon honey*

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS :

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the Greek yogurt, lemon juice, dill, garlic, honey, salt and pepper. Set aside.

2. Slice cucumbers in half lengthwise and thinly slice the cucumbers into half rounds.

3. Place the sliced cucumbers and radishes into a large serving bowl. Just before serving, stir the yogurt dill dressing into the salad and mix to coat the cucumbers and radishes—taste for seasoning.

4. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 2 hours. Any longer and the cucumbers start to release too much water, and the dressing will become runny.

Adapted from the recipe featured on Recipe Runner

Strawberry Spinach Salad

YIELDS: 6 servings

PREP TIME: 15 min

INGREDIENTS:

*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market

For Strawberry Spinach Salad

• 10 ounces fresh baby spinach*

• 1 quart strawberries*, quartered

• 1/2 red onion*, sliced thin

• 1/4 cup walnuts

• 4 ounces goat cheese

For Balsamic Poppyseed Dressing

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

• 1/2 cup honey*

• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds

• 1 tablespoon red onion*, minced

INSTRUCTIONS :

To Make the Salad Dressing:

Combine all of the ingredients for the dressing in a mason jar. Shake well until the honey is dissolved and the dressing is combined.

To Make the Salad:

Combine all the ingredients for the salad in a large bowl. Very lightly dress the salad right before serving, reserving the rest of the dressing on the side for people to add more.

Adapted from the recipe by Lisa Longley, featured in Simple Joy

by John Reardon for Saratoga TODAY