Do you ever have those days where you feel like a huge ass bowl of green salad? Today was one of those days for me.
The lack of rain here in south east Queensland, temperatures consistently in the mid-thirties and blah-like mugginess had me craving something light and refreshing.
I've gone on before about boring salads being boring, but sometimes it can feel as if vegetables are inevitably that. I personally find it hard to be creative with vegetables. Give me pasta or a piece of chicken breast and I can whip up an inventive bowl of something, but veggies...uh yeah, steam them? Grill them? Throw them on the plate raw with some olive oil and balsamic?
I am constantly on a mission to make my salad creations equally as exciting as other dishes. More importantly, we don't eat enough greens as a population. Therefore, it's in our best interest to make them more exciting. Check out my salad inspo for this recipe; Homespun Caper's asparagus salad.
This All of the Greens salad is exactly as described - select green vegetables coated in a tangy, mustardy dressing. Exciting salads are all about combining different tastes and textures. You have the toasty almonds, sweet and charred fennel and buttery avocado, in contrast with the crunch of peas and zucchini. All of which work well with the dressing. Plus, the dressing itself combines sweet and sour components as well. I would highly recommend stashing this mustardy dressing recipe in the back of your mind to spruce up even the most boring of vegetable dishes.
PrintAll of the Greens Salad
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 serves 1x
- Category: Side Dish
Ingredients
- 1 bunch green asparagus (ends removed)
- ¾ cup frozen peas
- 1 head baby cos lettuce (rinsed and chopped )
- 1 medium zucchini
- 1 cup sugar snap peas (sliced in half lengthways)
- ½ avocado (cut into cubes)
- 1 bulb fennel (thinly sliced)
- 2 tsp olive oil
- ½ cup roasted almonds (chopped roughly )
Mustard dressing
- ¼ cup olive oil
- Juice from 1 lemon
- 1 tsp honey
- 1.5 tsp dijon mustard
Instructions
- Heat a pot of water on the stove top until at a rolling boil. Cook frozen peas for 30 seconds in boiling water. Slice the prepared asparagus stalks in half on an angle and place into the boiling water with the peas for an additional 30-60 seconds to blanch. Remove and place vegetables straight into a bowl of ice water to cool.
- Using a peeler, ribbon the zucchini. Set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a frying pan on the stove. Place sliced fennel in the pan. Cook for two minutes each side, or until golden and coloured. Remove and place on a paper towel to cool.
- To assemble the salad, add lettuce, blanched asparagus, peas, zucchini, avocado, sugar snap peas, fennel and chopped almonds to a bowl. For the dressing, combine all ingredients in a jar and whisk to combine. Drizzle over salad, toss to coat and serve. Serves four as a side salad, or two people with a protein source as a main.
Let me see all of your food creations and delicious snaps by using the hashtag #eatnik on your photos!
