Pea and Asparagus Salad

Get a taste of spring with this pea and asparagus salad that features tender seasonal vegetables tossed with a lemon herb dressing.

Fresh, easy and flavorful are the words that come to mind when I think about spring cooking.  An abundance of produce also makes it one of the easiest times of year to eat more healthfully.  Seasonal favorites like asparagus, radishes and peas of every sort are at their peak requiring very little effort to prepare and eat. 

After months of casseroles and cream sauces spring vegetables are like a breath of fresh air, and one of my favorite ways to enjoy them is in a light and refreshing spring salad.

Tender blanched vegetables mingle with sweet baby lettuce, fresh herbs and a tangy lemon vinaigrette in this pea and asparagus salad.  Fresh and flavorful it’s a real taste of spring.

The vegetables are sweet and tender, the dressing zippy and bright and every bite is crisp and crunchy thanks to little gem lettuce.  If you’ve never had little gem lettuce it has the taste of butter lettuce and the crunch of romaine but with a smaller leaf size. (If you can’t find little gem lettuce you can substitute either butter or romaine hearts here as well.)

How to make a spring salad with peas and asparagus:

The salad comes together in a few easy steps, most of which can be done ahead of time.

• First are the vegetables which are blanched in a large pot of boiling salted water then quickly cooled in an ice bath to set their green color and maintain their crispness. There’s asparagus, and three kinds of peas (English, sugar snap and snow) but if you can only find one or two that’s fine as well.  As soon as the vegetables are chilled you can pat them dry and store them in an airtight container in the fridge until needed.  You can also slice some radishes ahead of time and have them ready to go.
• Second is the dressing, in this case a lemon and herb vinaigrette made with fresh lemon juice, lemon zest and lots of dill and mint.  It too can be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge.
• The last step is the assembly which you’ll want to do when you’re ready to serve.  Toss your lettuce and vegetables with the dressing, top the whole thing with more fresh herbs and a scattering of creamy goat cheese and you are ready to serve.

And that’s all there is to making a vibrant, vegetable-filled salad that sings of spring.  Enjoy!

More spring vegetable recipes:

• Sautéed Asparagus and Snow Peas
• Zucchini Noodle Primavera
• Sesame Sugar Snap Pea Salad

Continue to Content

Yield: Serves 4-6

Pea and Asparagus Salad

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Get a taste of spring with this pea and asparagus salad that features tender seasonal vegetables tossed with a lemon herb dressing.

Print

Ingredients

• ½ bunch asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
• ½ cup/ 85g frozen peas
• 2oz/ 56g snow peas, strings removed
• 2oz/ 56g sugar snap peas, strings removed
• 4-5 radishes, thinly sliced
• 5oz/ 142g little gem lettuce leaves
• 2oz /56 g goat cheese, crumbled (omit for vegan)
• For the dressing:
• 3 Tablespoons/45ml extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon/ 15ml fresh lemon juice
• the zest of ½ a lemon
• 1 teaspoon honey (substitute agave or a few drops of stevia instead for vegan)
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ⅛th teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 Tablespoons fresh mint, finely chopped (plus more to garnish)
• 2 Tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped (plus more to garnish)

Instructions

To blanch the vegetables:

1. Prepare an ice bath by placing ice cubes and cold water into a large heat proof bowl, set aside.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch the asparagus in the pot of boiling water for 1 minute (it will turn bright green), then using a strainer remove the asparagus from the boiling water and place immediately
   into the ice bath. Bring water back to a boil and add peas; cook for 1 minute then remove with a strainer and add to the ice bath. Repeat steps for the snow peas and sugar snap peas adding ice to ice bath as needed to keep it chilled.
3. Drain vegetables from ice and gently pat dry with a clean towel. Set aside or refrigerate until needed.

To make the dressing:

1. In a small bowl whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, honey, salt, pepper until well combined. Whisk in chopped mint and dill. Set aside or refrigerate until needed.

When ready to assemble:

1. Toss lettuce leaves with half of the dressing to lightly coat and arrange on serving platter. Toss blanched vegetables and radishes with a few more spoonfuls of dressing and place on top of the lettuce leaves.
2. Scatter crumbled goat cheese and a few torn mint leaves and dill fronds across the top and serve with remaining dressing alongside.

Notes

The vegetables and dressing can be made ahead and refrigerated until needed.

For a vegan option substitute agave or a few drops of stevia for the honey in the dressing and omit the goat cheese.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  KUHN RIKON Essential Spider Skimmer, Stainless Steel, Multicoloured

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 238Total Fat: 23gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 235mgCarbohydrates: 6gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 4g

Nutritional information for recipes contained on this website, such as calories, fat, carbs, etc. are only estimates and are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Did you make this recipe?

Please rate it, leave a comment below, or Pin it for later.

Sylvie

Sylvie Shirazi is the recipe developer and food photographer behind Gourmande in the Kitchen. For the last 10 years she's been making eating more healthfully easy and accessible with gluten-free, grain-free, paleo and vegan recipes that are free from processed ingredients.