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Spring Salad

May 14th, 2012

Helllloooooo!! I am back and refreshed after a very long weekend full of doing things like gobbling scones and cake. Because calories don’t count on Mother’s Day. Right?

So in the name of having a healthy week of balance, here is one of the salad recipes that I know I have been promising, promising. And this is the right time for this one, because I named it a “Spring Salad”. And well, Spring is coming to a close. So enjoy the beautiful flavors of sweet asparagus and peas, tender butter lettuce and creamy avocado tossed with a fresh mint vinaigrette while May still lingers. I love the addition of the soft boiled eggs because they not only compliment the rest of the salad, but they can make the salad a full meal.

I hope that you all had a beautiful Mother Day- thank you to my wonderful family for making it such a special day for me. I even got a nap ☺

Spring Salad, serves 4
-½ lb of asparagus, trimmed and sliced into ½ long pieces
-2 cups fresh peas (shelled) ( I know they have these at Trader Joes and Costco)
-6-7 leaves of fresh Butter Lettuce
-1 cup full of mache or mixed greens
-1 large avocado, peeled and diced
-½ cup mint vinaigrette
-4 soft boiled eggs

Mint Vinaigrette
-1 medium shallot, finely diced
-¼ cup fresh mint
-3 Tbs red wine vinegar
-¼ cup olive oil
-Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1) Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the asparagus and peas. Boil for two minutes until the vegetables are bright green.

2) Meanwhile, prepare an ice bath.

3) Strain the vegetables and immediately plunge them into the ice bath. When the vegetables have cooled completely, drain them again and set aside.

4) In a small bowl, whisk together the shallot, mint, vinegar and olive oil. Season to taste with kosher salt and pepper.

5) Toss together the peas and asparagus with the vinaigrette and season with kosher salt and pepper.

6) On a platter, place the tender lettuce leaves to form a bowl.

7) Gently pour the asparagus and peas into the lettuce bowl.

8) Top with the chunks of avocado and sprinkle them with a tiny bit of kosher salt.

9) I then placed the soft boiled eggs around the edge of the salad, and garnished the top with a few pansy petals for color.