It went up to sixty degrees today! Positively balmy in comparison to the temperatures we've experienced the past month. Of course the nice weather comes during the work week, making it hard for most of us to appreciate...but I did get to step outside for a moment during the middle of the day and when I did, I didn't need anything besides the merino wool sweater I was wearing over my silk dress, no jacket or excessive number of layers -- Spring was definitely in the air in the best sort of way!
Therefore I thought I'd give you all a nice, easy, quick weeknight recipe for a healthy, spring-y salad to go with the gorgeous weather outside. When I think spring and spring-y sort of meals, I think fresh, green, and light. So, guess what the prominent color of the salad will be -- green!
I like to keep this salad simple and not have you all go out and get a million different ingredients, you want to be able to have time to enjoy the weather rather than cooking. So here's the salad recipe:
Asparagus
Green Peas
Edamame
Basil
Roasted Salted Almonds
Shavings of Parmesan
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt
Simple right? Well there's a little prep involved, not much though, don't worry ladies and gents.
Steam the green peas and edamame so they are soft and tender. While you are doing that, I like to saute the asparagus with olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, and a little bit of white wine to bring out its sweetness. You want the asparagus to be crunchy on the outside but a little soft on the inside, definitely cooked through but not too much. Then toss the asparagus, green peas, leaves of basil, roasted almonds all together with some salt and pepper and a drizzle of basil oil and a drizzle of olive oil. Then shave nice long pieces of Parmigiano-Reggiano over the salad, you definitely do not want chunks or grated cheese, the cheese becomes very delicate when shaved and compliments the flavors of this delish spring-y salad. Grab a couple pieces of a fresh baguette from Balthazar to enjoy with the salad. I like to enjoy this with a nice light white wine. If you are feeling budget conscious, I'd go with a Torrontes like the Plata La Rioja from Astor wines and right now is on sale for $7.99. Can't beat that right!?!
If you are feeling like you might need something more substantial for dinner besides just a salad, I recommend going an Asian route:
Have you ever had Green Tea Soba Noodles otherwise known as Cha Soba? Well I hadn't until I discovered them a few months ago at the Japanese supermarket near my job and completely fell in love with them. They are considered a delicacy in Japan and only served on special occasions, but you can easily go to your local Japanese supermarket and buy a package for as little as $2.99. The cool thing about these noodles is they pack all the punch of the health benefits of soba along with those of green tea -- high levels of antioxidants, as well as a wide variety of vitamins and minerals. To go with the simple green theme of our spring-y menu, I like to cook the noodles then run them under cold water so you can serve them chilled. Then I like to toss them with scallions, sesame seeds, some chopped cucumber for a nice crunch, some finely chopped ginger, a little bit of soy sauce just to get a hint of the flavor and a little bit of sesame oil and if you like wasabi as much as I do, I strongly recommend adding a bit of wasabi for that extra punch and now you have your spring-y Asian salad to go with our Asparagus, Green Pea, Basil, and Parmesan salad -- a light, spring-y menu!
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