Spring-Fresh Salad

I do love this time of year as the days become longer and we click over onto daylight saving time and every day is warmer than the one before, and all around, everything turns green, green, green.

A Spring Salad

A Spring Salad

But before we get onto the green, green, green, salad, I have to show you a brand new Spring arrival.  I wish she was mine but she’s not.  Her name is Coco and she’s just 10 weeks old.  My little guy has a friend at school who had a dog who died at the same time as Ruby.  Devastated, they wanted to fill the void so joined the queue for a long-haired miniature dachshund.

Coco at 10 weeks

Coco at 10 weeks

I’ve been following the journey as David and his mother moved up the waiting list and then there was the news of the pregnancy and then the birth of three puppies, (however tragically one puppy died), and then finally, last Saturday they were able to drive to the breeder and collect their chocolate-coloured puppy.

Broad (flava) beans

Broad (flava) beans

Barely able to restrain myself, I called in on Sunday with Rosie for a ‘meet and greet’.  Coco was so thrilled to see a familiar face, (Rosie’s, not mine), and tried to engage Rosie in some puppy games but Rosie wouldn’t co-operate.  Not even when Coco grabbed the end of Rosie’s tail with her teeth and tried pulling her along the carpet did Rosie engage with Coco – she was a dud familiar face.

Peas

Peas

David’s mother said to me that the night before she put Coco to bed in the laundry.  Coco just whimpered and yelped and carried on and so she brought her up to her room where she slept in her bed.  She asked me if that was normal.  I said, ‘Absolutely; dachshunds don’t like to be further away from you than an inch’.

Green ingredients

Green ingredients

She said, ‘Well none of my other dogs ever carried on like this’.

And I said, ‘This one knows she’s royalty’.  And today’s update is that Coco is still sleeping in the royal suite.

Coco is such a cute and gorgeous puppy.  As long as I don’t wear out my welcome mat, I’ll be very busy visiting her.

Shelled broad (flava) beans

Shelled broad (flava) beans

Now…at this time of the year when everything is new and young and fresh, it’s not something you want to miss out on.  I made a salad to celebrate all things new, young and fresh.

A side-dish or a complete meal

A side-dish or a complete meal

It’s a salad full of greenery with lots of flavour, texture and crunch.  I made it using fresh broad (flava) beans and fresh peas that needed to be podded.  If you don’t have time for all that podding business you can substitute frozen vegetables and the salad will taste the same, it’s just there’s something rather therapeutic about podding and shelling peas and beans.

A Spring Salad

A Spring Salad

The dressing is simply made with olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, a little sugar and some seasoning.  The salad can be a side dish or a complete meal.  I ate the salad for lunch with a slice of toasted sourdough covered in marinated feta.

Served with toasted sourdough spread with marinated feta

Served with toasted sourdough spread with marinated feta

5.0 from 7 reviews
Spring Salad
Author: 
Recipe type: Salad
Cuisine: Australian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: Serves 4-6
 
A super-fresh Spring salad made with all things green.
Ingredients
  • 1kg (2lbs) broad beans (flava beans)
  • 400g (14oz) peas
  • 100g (3.5oz) snowpeas
  • 1 lge handful beanettes (baby beans)
  • 1 bunch baby asparagus
  • 1 bunch mint
  • 1 handful toasted pinenuts
  • For the Dressing:
  • ⅓ cup olive oil
  • ¼ cup white balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tsp castor (superfine) sugar
  • seasoning
Instructions
  1. Pod the broad beans. Bring a small saucepan of salted water to boil. Blanch the broad beans then drain and place in an ice bath. When cold, remove outer skins from broad beans and discard. Place shelled broad beans in a large bowl.
  2. Shell the peas then blanch in salted boiling water. Drain and place in an ice bath. When cold, place in same bowl as the broad beans.
  3. Trim snow peas then blanch in salted boiling water. Drain and place in an ice bath. When cold, add to the bowl.
  4. Trim the beanettes then blanch in salted boiling water. Drain and place in an ice bath. When cold, add to the bowl.
  5. Snap off the woody ends of the asparagus. Blanch in salted boiling water. Drain and place in an ice bath. When cold, add to the bowl.
  6. To Make the Dressing:
  7. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl then whisk until sugar has dissolved. Pour over salad.
  8. To Assemble:
  9. Arrange salad ingredients on a large platter or bowl. Decorate with some baby mint leaves and toasted pine nuts.
Spring is in the air

Spring is in the air

If you’re looking for something vegetarian, vegan and brilliantly green, don’t look past this Spring-fresh salad.

Comments

  1. pamela.hayward7650@gmail.com says:

    Such a cute puppy! Our dog (no longer a puppy) is in surgery today. Fingers crossed!
    This salad looks wonderful -lots of healthy greens…yum!

  2. A beautiful salad and such a sweet puppy xxxx

  3. I guess that could work in our autumn season too. But better stick to earthy colours for now.
    It just looks so fresh and beautiful, I want to tuck in right now !

  4. You have to pod pea’s, reminds me of my childhood, and my dad had peas growing every year and we used to sit there and eat them yummmmmmm. And our puppies get pride of place on our bed as well……… 🙂

  5. Look at Coco’s eyes! How could anyone resist them? 😀

  6. Tasty looking salad and adorable puppy. The term ‘puppy eyes’ fits cause who could deny that adorable face anything.

  7. Freshly shelled peas and broad beans are such a treat! The perfect spring salad.

  8. Coco is adorable. What a sweet face.

    Those greens look delicious as does that bread.

  9. Hi Charlie, Coco looks so sweet……love your fresh spring salad.

  10. I really love fall and the holidays. But your salad makes me wish it was spring. but oh that puppy! pure sweetness!

  11. Coco just melted my heart!!!!! Jan x

  12. Coco is SO CUTE and fluffy! I wouldn’t be able to put him down and what a gorgeous color. Lovely salad Charlie! Yes, it does scream spring, longer days and new growth. Can’t wait to spring hits here again. Great idea to throw in the pine nuts.

  13. Oh, Coco! She is so very cute and how could one banish a face like that to the laundry! This salad is also beautifully spring-like and I am glad you’re enjoying the weather it represents.

  14. yum this looks so darn healthy and good for you! i am so in love with coco. i keep going back to the photo and looking longingly. our dog died a couple of years ago and this makes me want to go out and get another fur baby!

  15. Oh, my! Coco’s face is just precious!!! I can see why you’re smitten—I would be, too.Lambeau used to give the cold shoulder to the younger pups who wanted to play with her, too—but now it’s Izzy who is the one who’s enthusiastic to romp with the other dogs 🙂
    P.S. Your salad is gorgeous!!!

  16. Coco is adorable and pets do have a way of taking over our lives. Great looking salad.

  17. What a darling puppy. I think you’re getting clucky for a puppy, Charlie!

    Your salad screams springtime.

  18. Coco is a cutie! Impossible to keep pets from sleeping with one. At least we find it so — but we’re real softies! Anyway, such a nice salad. I could make a whole meal out of that!

  19. Oh, how cute is Coco – just so adorable:-)

  20. What a delicious and simple dish Charlie! I should have made this rather than get takeaway last night! It would have been quicker, tastier and MUCH healthier, plus all the ingredients are in my garden :0!
    Thanks so much for sharing
    Julie
    Gourmet Getaways

  21. That looks like the perfect fresh spring lunch or side salad.
    And that puppy is absolutely adorable. I think our puppy days are over. The destruction wreaked by our wolfhound when she was a pup is still too fresh in our minds …

  22. Even though we are far from spring, we have these vegetables fresh most of the winter and this salad looks just delicious. I would love to take something like this salad with me to work, too. I love the expression on Coco’s sweet face! What a gentle and precious little dog. I hope each time you visit you’ll bring back a report. I’d have to let her sleep in my bed, too! 🙂

  23. Lovely fresh salad Charlie but wee Cocoa definitely wins hands down as my favourite in this post. 😀
    Have a beautiful day.
    🙂 Mandy xo

  24. That is so lovely and creative.

  25. Hi, Wow! I’m thinking that you really should do a video tutorial, your spring salad is amazing. Would love to be your neighbor.

  26. The salad is beautiful and I’m envious of your warm weather! Fall has arrived here and I’ll be freezing for the next 7 months. Coco…oh my goodness, what a precious little thing! Vizslas feel they are royalty as well. Somehow I think a Dachshund may be easier to sleep with though!

  27. This lovely Spring salad is making wish it would be Spring over here right now instead of heading toward the winter. Just beautiful!

  28. I’m a real salad girl and your fresh green one looks delicious. And as far as Coco goes, those eyes could melt your heart.

  29. A beautiful green lunch! I love the bread with feta too. It’s perfect. I already miss the green! While I do love fall color, I could do without the grays and browns of winter. I do love that I can vicariously enjoy spring and summer through you and your food though!

  30. What an adorable puppy! That salad is surely spring in a bowl.

  31. Who says ‘healthy’ stuff can not look pretty? – An absolutely joyful, beautiful dish. I’ve never though of combining those gorgeous green beauties that you’ve shown here.

    Can’t thank you enough for the idea!

  32. The salad is fantastic especially with all the fresh green. And most of all so healthy. Thanks for sharing this recipe. Talking about your dog it is such a cute puppy!

  33. OMG!!! That puppies eyes, I am in love. 🙂 I just finished telling Mom the other day that my obsession with dogs and puppies, my Little Chef in particular is almost obsessive. Oops! Loving this gorgeous green salad, wish the weather would make its mind up so I could settle into eating summery foods tho. My beans and snowpeas are about 2 weeks off being ready to go, but when they are, this dish will be in my belly! Yum!

  34. YUM!
    I was looking at the delicious images and then I saw the recipe teamed with feta toast!!!
    OMG
    Thanks so much for sharing,
    Julie
    Gourmet Getaways

  35. Wow, this looks incredibly awesome. I could definitely do with it right now. I cn grab it right from the screen and gobble it up. lovely.

  36. Lovely spring salad. I’ll store this one away until our spring rolls round again!

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