It’s beginning to look a lot like spring outside my window and this Green Goddess Spring Salad satisfies my craving for all things green.
It is entirely customizable, depending on what’s available at your market. I used asparagus, sugar snap peas, radishes and rainbow carrots as my base and bulked it up with avocado and jammy eggs. Add chicken or grilled steak for more protein if you like.
I found these stunning watermelon radishes, but regular radishes would be equally tasty in this spring salad.
I created a creamy herb based dressing for this spring salad. I used a mix of cilantro, parsley, basil and dill, but feel free to change up the mix depending on your preferences. Any soft leafy green herbs will work. Watch it come together:
Tips to ensure success:
- Even if you think you hate anchovies, don’t omit the anchovy paste in the dressing. It won’t taste fishy. It just adds a huge depth of flavour.
- Add a handful of fresh spinach to the blender when making the dressing. It will preserve the green colour of the dressing for a few days.
- After cooking asparagus and sugar snap peas, plunge them in ice water to retain that bright green colour.
- For jammy eggs, bring water to a boil. Add eggs, boil for 7 minutes. Drop into ice water to stop cooking and chill. Peel. Perfect eggs every time.
Green Goddess Spring Salad
Ingredients
Green Goddess Dressing
- 1/2 cup fresh spinach leaves loosely packed, washed and dried well
- 1 cups mix of soft green herbs (dill, basil, parsley, cilantro) loosely packed, washed and dried well
- 1 Tablespoon anchovy paste
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise light is fine, just don't use fat free
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal Kosher salt or 1/2 teaspoon Morton's Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Salad
- 6 cups mixed salad greens (radicchio, arugula and romaine) washed and dried well
- 4 large eggs
- 1 bunch asparagus washed and trimmed
- 2 cups sugar snap peas washed and trimmed
- 3 radishes buy watermelon radishes if they are available
- 2 carrots bonus points if you can find purple carrots!
- 2 avocados peeled and cut into wedges or chunks
Instructions
- Make dressing: Place spinach, herbs, anchovy paste, garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice into blender or food processor. Process until smooth. Scrape down sides of blender. Add mayo, salt and pepper and process just until combined. Pour dressing into jar and refrigerate until ready to use. This will keep in the frisdge for about a week.
- Cook eggs: Bring a medium saucepan filled with water to a boil. Gently lower eggs into While eggs are cooking, fill a bowl with ice and water. When eggs are done, transfer to ice bath to briefly chill. Peel eggs, halve and set aside.
- Bring pot of water to a boil again and add a big pinch of salt. Add asparagus and cook for 1 minute. Add sugar snap peas and cook for additional minute. While veggies are cooking, fill a bowl with ice and water. Drain veggies and place in ice water bath to stop cooking and help retain beautiful green colour. Drain and dry well on a kitchen towel.
- Wash radishes and thinly slice.
- Slice carrots, on the diagonal, into 1/4 inch thick slices.
- Arrange salad greens on a large platter. Channel your inner artist and cover the lettuce with rows of all your spring toppings (eggs, asparagus, sugar snap peas, radishes, carrots and avocados). Serve the dressing on the side.
Nutrition
You may also enjoy this Green Goddess Salad I posted last year.