I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! I had the best time. It was a weekend of family and dear friends.
On Saturday we took a ferry boat to Bainbridge Island, which is about a 30 minute ferry ride across the sound. Obviously the kids loved every second of that. And then we made our way over to our friends Ramey and Brett’s for dinner with their family. Ramey is my oldest friend. (Not like she is 100 years old, but like we have been friends since we were 3!) It was so incredibly nice to see them and catch up and they were the hosts with the most- they totally made a “free from” meal (free from dairy, egg and gluten and garlic and sugar) and it was delicious and it was so nice of them to accommodate us like that.
Then on Sunday I got to spend time with one of my very dearest friends Missy (and we go back over 20 years) and her beautiful family. It was a really, really nice weekend. We capped it off with Pizza and Game of Thrones because that’s what Sundays are all about lately!
I wanted to share this salad because it is “Meatless Monday” and because I had a lot of requests for this salad after I instagramed it from brunch on Mothers Day. It is the loveliest, most simple and clean salad full of subtle, naturally sweet flavors and crisp beautiful spring vegetables. The sesame dressing is the perfect light and delicious compliment without overpowering anything.
This would be absolutely wonderful with a piece of seared salmon- in fact, maybe that is dinner tomorrow…
Recipe: Avocado, Asparagus, Pea and Radish Sesame Salad
Ingredients
- half a pound of fresh asparagus spears
- 1 ½ cups green peas, hulled
- 1 whole ripe but firm avocado, thinly sliced
- 1 bunch radishes (I used breakfast radishes)
- 1 shallot, minced finely
- 4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 3 tablespoons sesame oil
- kosher salt to taste
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Slice each asparagus spear on the bias into 4ths and set aside.
- Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Add the asparagus and cook for 1-2 minutes until just tender. Use a slotted spoon or spider and pull the asparagus out and dump into a strainer. Rinse with cold water and drain. Set aside.
- Dump the peas in and boil for 1 minute and then drain, rinse and drain again. Set aside.
- Thinly slice the radishes and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the shallots, rice wine vinegar, honey and sesame oil. Season to taste with kosher salt. Add the asparagus, peas and radishes and toss together. Season again with kosher salt and toss in the sesame seeds.
- On the serving platter or shallow bowl, line the edges of the bowl with the thinly sliced avocado. Sprinkle them with kosher salt.
- Pour the salad over the avocado slices and garnish with fresh chives or chive blossoms if you have them.
Preparation time: 15 minute(s)
Cooking time: 5 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 8
Sounds like you had a dreamy awesome weekend, full of great friends and fun times. We all need those to help reset life and get centered going into the next week! Glad you had a great one!
Salad is gorgeous & pinned!
awww, thanks Averie. Yes, we do- and I think it had been quite a long time since I had done that, so it was well appreciated 🙂
Perfection on a plate! I need all of these greens after Miami!!
thanks Jenny! I know, I always just want to eat salad when I get back from traveling!
Sounds like a fun weekend, Heather!! Love spending time with close ones! This salad looks soooo fresh and delicious!
This sounds incredible.!! So hungry 🙂
My kind of salad! Love!
Love those types of weekend. This salad looks so spring perfect and delicious.
thanks Naomi!
Total Spring in a salad! Love this!
This is drop dead gorgeous! I also want to tell you I made your greek meatloaf last week and it was amazing the first night and even better in a sandwich the next day! xo
Oh Yay Kate!!! thank you- so glad you liked it!
OMG this looks like absolute perfection. I love beautiful, vibrant Spring salads like this one. Great recipe.
Thank you Beth! They are my favorite kind of thing to eat this time of year toO!
Gorgeous salad, love the fresh greens!
Thank you Laura!
Hooray, all the vegetables in the land! I could really get behind a big plate of this beautiful salad for lunch.
Thanks Eileen!!
Your weekend sounds like it was lovely, catching up with old friends is so fun. This salad looks so fresh and clean. It has some of my favorite veggies, asparagus, peas, and radishes, and that dressing sounds like the perfect combination for it! Pinned!
Thank you Danae! Glad it looks good to you!
This salad looks absolutely stunning! The colors are beautiful. Bet it tasted good too, love peas and asparagus the springtime. Lovely!
Sounds like such a great weekend. So happy you guys had a great one!!
This salad sounds so great. Love all the green!
What an amazing (and pretty) spring salad!
That looks like the worlds most perfect lunch!
This is totally what I need in my life right now!
What a lovely recipe! Could this be made and “dressed” with the dressing and keep for a day or 2 (or 3?). I make Kale salad and find it gets better and better for a few days in the fridge and makes for great lunches. Or do you think I should dress it right before serving? Thanks!
Christine- I think that this totally gets better after a day or two- although you may need to adjust the seasoning later- like it loses some of it’s acidity and salt after sitting a few days.
I am so in love food with like this. Dangit!
Tried making this salad – came out amazing! Big hit in the household. Thanks for posting!
Oh yum! I love this recipe!!