When I think about spring, which has gotten a jump-start this year, I think about green colors, herbs, raw vegetal textures and bright wake-up-your-mouth flavors that still have hint of richness. I developed this spring salad for Spuntino, the cafe my wife, Yasmin, and I took over in Highland last month.
The salad is made with a dressing emulsified with egg yolk and mustard and given a little creaminess and tang with Parmesan cheese (it goes without saying that you should grate your own and at the last minute). The bitter raddichio balances the sweet Lolla Rossa or butter lettuce, the crunch of the raw peas and the slightly bitter sprouts and the bite from the garlic and the raw, but finely diced, red onion, counter the creamy dressing.
The English Pea Pesto crostini are a nice little bonus to add to a salad and make an excellent hors d’oeuvre in themselves, especially topped with sheep’s-milk ricotta and a little olive oil.
Spring Salad With Lemon Parmesan Dressing and Sweet Pea Crostini
By John Broening, makes 4 servings.
Ingredients
LEMON PARMESAN DRESSING
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Salt and freshly ground pepper
¾ cup neutral oil such as canola or rice bran
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
ENGLISH PEA PESTO
2 cups frozen peas
12 mint leaves
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup toasted sliced almonds
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Pinch chile flakes
Salt and pepper
Zest and juice of ½ lemon
SALAD
8 slices baguette
English Pea Pesto
1 head Lolla Rossa or butter lettuce, cleaned and separated into leaves
½ head radicchio, chopped
1 cup snap peas or snow peas, julienned
3 tablespoons minced red onion
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
½ cup alfalfa sprouts (or whichever kind you prefer)
Lemon Parmesan dressing
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
Make the dressing: Whisk together the lemon juice, zest, egg yolk, mustard, and salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in the neutral oil to emulsify, then slowly whisk in the extra-virgin olive oil. Fold in the Parmesan. If the dressing is too thick (it should be the consistency of heavy cream) whisk in a little cold water. Refrigerate covered until ready to use.
Make the pesto: Blanch the peas in boiling salted water for 1 minute. Refresh under cold water and drain well. Place the peas, mint, garlic, almonds and Parmesan in a food processor. Process the pesto into a rough paste while slowly adding the olive oil. Season with chile flakes, salt, pepper and lemon zest.
Note: The English Pea Pesto can be made up to 2 days ahead at this point and refrigerated.
Shortly before using, add the lemon juice.
Assemble the salad: Toast the baguette slices and slather generously with the pea pesto. Toss the Lolla Rossa, raddichio, snow peas, red onion, parsley and sprouts with enough of the Lemon Parmesan Dressing to coat and salt and freshly ground pepper. Sprinkle a generous amount of the Parmesan and toss again.
Serve each salad on an individual plate, piled high with two baguette slices on the side.
