I am going to admit it: Salad was not my favourite! Don’t get me wrong… salad and I were on amicable terms. I appreciate that salad had an important role in my life and salad was always there for me when I need to serve up a quick dinner. But the cost of salad’s consistency is that he could be somewhat predictable; lettuce, tomato, cucumber, capsicum.
When I’m ravenously hungry, feeling down and simply craving carbohydrates, salad is not usually who I would think to call. I am usually much more tempted to call hot chips and chocolate (who act like they’re my friends but, between you and me, I think they are purposefully shrinking my jeans).
With the arrival of spring, warm weather and BBQs I knew that salad was going to be around a lot more often. I had to be honest with salad. I had to be honest that I couldn’t take the same-old same-old any more. We needed to change it up or see other people. It was a difficult conversation to have, particularly when neither of us knew the answer straight away. Salad tried to suggest different types of leafy greens, or a different colour capsicum, but it wasn’t enough. I needed something more substantial.
Enter Kate Freeman, nutritionist, who helped us both see reason. The spring weather had bought with it an array of new vegetables that salad and I had never tried. It was a revelation! Why can’t we change up what we do based on the seasonal produce? Salad will look different the whole way through the year! My relationship with salad has been completely renewed by this spring vegetable salad and I plan on trotting him out at every spring BBQ this year! You can win friends with this salad.
Warm Spring Vegetable Salad
Ingredients
- 400 g potato, chat quartered
- 4 cup lettuce, leaves, mixed
- 1 carrot finely chopped
- 10-12 mushroom, common
- ½ cup peas, fresh shelled (can substitute for sugar snap peas or snow peas)
- 450 g chicken, breast, cooked shredded (poached or BBQ'd chicken)
- 1 tbsp pine nuts lightly toasted
- 2-3 shallot finely chopped
- 1 tbsp vinegar, white balsamic
- 1-2 tsp tarragon, dried
- 1 tsp oil, olive extra virgin
Instructions
- Bring a saucepan of water to boil and cook the potato, with the skin on until soft, around 10-15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Meanwhile divide the lettuce leaves, chopped carrot, sliced mushrooms, shredded chicken and pine nuts between 4 large bowls.
- Blanch the peas by placing in a heat proof bowl and covering with boiling water. Let stand for 2-3 minutes and then drain. Add the peas to the salad bowls.
- Combine the white balsamic vinegar, tarragon, extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss the warm potatoes in the dressing and add the potatoes to the salad. Serve and enjoy.
