Early spring salad
Spring vegetables are starting to make an appearance at farmers markets in California. Winter rains have recently returned to make a dent in a two-year drought, but asparagus and strawberries still tempt in their early abundance. This spring salad takes advantage of the current bounty, while keeping a bit of winter's flavor with a lemon-blood orange dressing.
Ingredients
- Mix of spring lettuces
- Several stalks of raw asparagus, thinly sliced
- Four golden beets, roasted, peeled and sliced
- 4 or 5 large strawberries, sliced
- Toasted walnuts
- Feta cheese
- Dressing ingredients
- Juice of one lemon
- Juice of one blood orange (if not available, you can stick with lemon juice)
- 1/4 cup olive oil (adjust amount to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Wash and dry beets and rub with a bit of olive oil.
- Place them in an oven proof dish and roast for 45-50 minutes.
- Let the beets cool for 30 minutes, then remove skin and slice them.
- Assemble salad ingredients in a large bowl, creating a colorful pattern with yellow beets, strawberries and sliced raw asparagus atop of the salad greens.
- When ready to serve, toss with citrus dressing.