Mediterranean spring salad

By Ric

This salad is a great way to bring the taste of the Mediterranean to your table. We had a nice big serving of it yesterday with some grilled marinated tuna and washed it down with a crisp white wine, and during the meal it felt like we’d been transported to the sunny shores of the Mediterranean.

This salad is absolutely delicious without adding any extra ingredients, but it can easily be varied with the addition of some fresh baby spinach leaves or some arugula (rocket). A handful of toasted pine nuts, or a little crumbled feta also work well with this salad. As does the addition of a few plump black olives.

You can even easily turn this salad into pasta primavera by tossing it with hot pasta and topping with some shaved or grated Parmesan cheese.

Mediterranean Spring Salad

Serves 4

This Mediterranean spring salad is full of vibrantly-colored vegetables and coated in a tangy lemon-basil dressing.

8 asparagus spears — ends cut off and halved
10 green beans — halved
1 cup frozen fava (broad) beans
1 carrot — peeled and sliced into thin rounds
1½ cups cherry tomatoes — halved
½ yellow pepper — cut into thin strips
½ zucchini — halved lengthwise and thinly sliced into half moons
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1½ tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil
½ garlic clove — minced
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

BRING a pot of water to the boil. ADD the asparagus, green beans and fava beans and cook for 3 minutes. REFRESH under cold water, drain, and place the asparagus and green beans in a salad bowl. PEEL the fava beans (by removing the leathery outer skins) and add to the same bowl with the carrot, cherry tomatoes, yellow pepper and zucchini. COMBINE the olive oil, lemon juice, basil, garlic, salt and pepper in a screw-top jar and shake well to combine. TOSS the salad ingredients gently with the dressing.

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