2 Bright & Fresh Spring Salads!

With the amazing produce spring brings, one of the best ways to enjoy it is in a fresh salad!

From peas to leafy greens to asparagus, here are two great recipes for tossing together all your seasonal favorites.

Simple, bright, and delicious.

Spring Quinoa Salad with Peas and Lemon Feta Vinaigrette

A salad like this is the kind of meal that I love to eat for lunch or dinner, especially once the weather begins to warm up. Most salads, like this one, can even be combined ahead of time, then dressed right before eating. Leftovers with the dressing on also taste wonderful, because everything soaks up the vinaigrette and gets even more incredible. Basically you cannot go wrong!

4 cups lightly packed baby spinach

3 cups cooked quinoa (or couscous)

12 ounces frozen green peas, cooked

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 green onions, thinly sliced

¼ cup chopped fresh herbs, like parsley, basil, cilantro and/or mint

¼ cup shelled roasted pistachios

LEMON FETA VINAIGRETTE

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

1 teaspoon honey

1 garlic clove, minced

salt and pepper

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

½ cup crumbled feta cheese

Cook the quinoa if you haven’t previously or don’t have a leftover grain. Make the quinoa according to the directions, which will probably call for it to cook for 12 to 15 minutes. (I always use 1 cup rinsed quinoa to 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth)

Place the cooked quinoa in a large bowl. Add the baby spinach, green peas, chickpeas, green onions and fresh herbs. Drizzle on a bit of the dressing and toss to combine.

Top with the pistachios. Drizzle with more dressing – as much as you’d like. Serve!

TO MAKE THE LEMON FETA VINAIGRETTE:

Whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar, lemon zest, honey, garlic and a big pinch of salt and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil until emulsified. Stir in the feta cheese. This can be made a day ahead of time!

Asparagus Pasta Salad with Honey Dijon Dressing

This pasta salad is showered with my honey mustard vinaigrette – possibly my favorite dressing of all time! It is SO GOOD. If you’re a honey mustard fan like me, you will love it.  

1 pound pasta, cooked

kosher salt and pepper

1 pound asparagus, woody stems removed and cut into thirds

4 cups lightly packed fresh arugula

1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered

4 green onions, thinly sliced

8 ounces white cheddar or fontina cheese, cubed (optional)

¼ cup chopped fresh herbs, like basil and parsley

HONEY MUSTARD DRESSING

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons dijon mustard

2 garlic cloves, finely minced or pressed

kosher salt and pepper

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

*Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the directions.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place asparagus on parchment lined baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 8 to 10 minutes, or until your desired tenderness is reached and the tips are crispy. If the spears are thick, you may need to roast for 12-15 minutes. Cut asparagus spears into thirds.

In a large bowl, combine the cooked pasta, the asparagus, arugula, tomatoes, green onions and cheddar cheese. Pour in the dressing and toss well to combine. Taste the pasta salad and add another pinch of salt and pepper if you find that it needs it (this will depend on how much you use for the boiling pasta, dressing and asparagus!). Stir in the fresh herbs.

You can store this in the fridge now until serving, or you can serve it immediately. It will last in the fridge for 2 to 3 days. If you are making it a day or so ahead of time, I suggest tossing in the fresh herbs right before serving.

HONEY MUSTARD DRESSING

Whisk together the vinegar, honey, mustard, garlic and a big pinch of both salt and pepper. Stream in the olive oil while whisking until it’s emulsified. You can make this ahead of time and store in the fridge for 1 to 2 days!