Spring Salad with Asparagus, Goat Cheese, lemon and Hazelnuts
Ingredients
- 1 bunch of asparagus,on the thin side but thick enough to cut in half lengthwise.
- 1 cup fresh peas, or frozen and defrosted
- ½ cup of cooked and prepped fava beans, you could use frozen defrosted lima beans
- 5 radishes, thinly sliced
- 2 medium raw zucchini made into ribbons with a vegetable peeler, (no seeds)
- ½ bunch of red leaf lettuce chopped bite size and a generous handful of arugula mixed together or combination of salad greens of your choice
- 4 oz. of chevre goat cheese, I used the one with honey
- the zest of one lemon, you can cut up a few slices for garnish after
- ½ cup of toasted hazelnuts, slightly cracked open
- shaved Parmigiano Reggiano for top of salad
- extra lemons for dressing
- olive oil
Instructions
- Roast your asparagus on a sheet pan drizzled with olive oil for maybe 5 or 10 minutes on 375 just until the raw taste is gone, you don't want limp asparagus they should still have a good bite to them, so keep checking. Cool them off and them slice them lengthwise.
- Make a lemon and olive oil dressing using 2 parts fresh lemon juice to 4 parts olive oil.
- In a bowl mash up your goat cheese and loosen it up with 2 tablespoons of the lemon dressing.
- Gently toss and coat sliced asparagus into the mixture, adding salt and pepper to taste.
- On a large platter assemble the greens, peas, fava beans, radishes, zucchini ribbons all over ending with the goat cheese coated asparagus on top.
- Sprinkle the toasted nuts all around.
- Spoon lemon dressing all around, as much as you think you need.
- Add shavings of Parmiggiano Reggiano on top.
- Garnish with a few lemon slices.