This is an easy spring salad full of seasonal ingredients like asparagus, radishes, peas, fresh herbs and enhanced with roasted chickpeas, feta cheese, toasted pine nuts, and hard boiled eggs all topped with a bright and tangy lemon salad dressing.
Well, we did it again! We survived winter! And boy was it a doozy here in Utah this year. I have never seen so much snow here and we have lived here a really long time. So the fact that a “spring” salad is even a possibility brings a smile to my face! It is time for bright refreshing flavors and warmer temperatures!
What Goes in a Spring Salad?
One of the beauties of a salad is that they are so versatile, so I’m going to share the ingredients for how we like to make this salad, but keep in mind that you can omit or add ingredients to your liking. Here is what we like…
Dressing
- Olive Oil: the base of the dressing
- Dijon Mustard: adds intense mustard flavor
- Lemon Juice and Zest: adds a bright pop of freshness and acidity
- Shallot: adds mild onion flavor
- Champagne Vinegar: if you can’t find champagne vinegar, you can use prosecco or white wine vinegar
- Salt and Pepper: adds flavor
Salad
- Pine Nuts: adds texture and we toast them for maximum flavor
- Asparagus: remove the tough stem end and then cut it into 1-2″ pieces
- Frozen Peas: let them defrost in a bowl of water
- Baby Salad Greens: this can be any mix of greens you enjoy…romaine, spinach, arugula, chard, etc.
- Radishes: adds a little heat and gorgeous color
- Cucumber: we prefer an English cucumber
- Fresh Herbs: mint, basil, parsley, chives – this blend is so bright and bold
- Feta: totally optional, but we love them saltiness flavor it adds
- Roasted Chickpeas: you can buy roasted chickpeas or roast your own and they add great texture
- Olive Oil: used to roast the chickpeas
- Salt and Pepper: adds flavor
- Hard Boiled Eggs: adds protein and heartiness to the salad
This is meant to just be an overview of the ingredients for this salad. For all the details and measurements, scroll down to the recipe card at the end of this post.
How to Make a Fresh Spring Salad
I like to start salad recipes by making the dressing. It can be made up to a day or two ahead of time, so it’s nice to get that made and out of the way. For this salad dressing, just whisk all the ingredients together and set it aside.
Other parts of this recipe can also be prepped ahead of time. You can hard boil the eggs, toast the pine nuts and roast the chickpeas up