Spring green salad recipe

Name: Spring green salad recipe
Cook time: 30 min
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Ingredients: 4 artichokes; 2 zucchini, cut into 1cm rounds; 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed, peeled, halved cross-wise; 250g sugar snap peas, trimmed; 1 small bunch watercress, picked; For the dressing; 1 Lebanese cucumber, partly peeled, chopped; 50ml extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for artichokes and zucchini; 2 tbsp white wine vinegar, plus extra for artichokes; ¼ tsp castor sugar; salt and pepper, to season; 1 tbsp finely chopped chives; 1 tbsp chopped dill

Adam Liaw

September 22, 2016

Time:< 30 mins

A mix of textures is more important for a good salad, so rather than composing it with the same old vegies, leave some of the old faithfuls out. You might be surprised at the results.

Ingredients

4 artichokes
2 zucchini, cut into 1cm rounds
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed, peeled, halved cross-wise
250g sugar snap peas, trimmed
1 small bunch watercress, picked
For the dressing
1 Lebanese cucumber, partly peeled, chopped
50ml extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for artichokes and zucchini
2 tbsp white wine vinegar, plus extra for artichokes
¼ tsp castor sugar
salt and pepper, to season
1 tbsp finely chopped chives
1 tbsp chopped dill

Method

For the dressing, purée the cucumber, oil, vinegar, sugar and salt and pepper using a blender or stick blender, then stir through the chives and dill.

Heat oven to 200C. Trim the top third of the bulb of the artichoke and about 5cm along the stem. Peel off the leaves until you get to the pale yellow leaves. Use a teaspoon to remove the fluffy, fibrous part known as the choke and pare away any fibrous green parts to leave the pale yellow heart. Halve through the stem. Keep the artichokes in cold water with a little vinegar added to prevent discolouring. Place the artichokes and zucchini on an oven tray, toss with oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes.
Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil. Cook the asparagus and sugar snap peas for 2 minutes until bright green, then drain and refresh under cold water. Toss all the salad ingredients together and drizzle with dressing to serve.