We recently experienced one of the first warmer days of Spring, where you feel like winter is finally in the rearview mirror. As the seasons change, I notice that my cravings for specific foods will change with it. This salad celebrates young and tender pea greens, tossed with toasted pecans, plumped cranberries, and a punchy lemon pepper vinaigrette.
The recipe below makes 4 salads.
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Springtime Pea Greens Salad with Toasted Pecans and Cranberries
Ingredients
For the Lemon Pepper Vinaigrette:
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Juice of 3 lemons
- ½ tsp freshly-ground black pepper
- 2 Tbsp yellow onion (finely minced)
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 3 Tbsp honey
- ¼ cup olive oil
- Kosher salt & freshly-ground black pepper (to taste)
For the Remaining Salad Components:
- ¼ yellow onion (cut into 1/8” slices)
- ¼ cup dried cranberries (soaked in hot water for 5 minutes)
- ½ cup pecans (lightly toasted and roughly chopped)
- 4 cups young pea greens, washed and drained
- Kosher salt & freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 Tbsp fresh chives (finely sliced, as garnish)
Instructions
- For the Lemon Pepper Vinaigrette, locate a small mixing bowl and gather the required vinaigrette ingredients.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the lemon zest, lemon juice, freshly-ground black pepper, minced yellow onion, Dijon mustard, honey, and olive oil.
- Taste the vinaigrette, and season with Kosher salt & more freshly-ground black pepper if desired.
- Set the vinaigrette aside while you prepare the remaining salad ingredients.
- Toast your whole pecans in a dry saute pan on medium-high until they are gently toasted and warm.
- Roughly chop the pecans into large pieces and set them aside for later.
- Plump your cranberries in a small bowl for 5 minutes with ½ cup of boiling water.
- Allow the cranberries to steep in the hot water for 5 minutes, and then drain the cranberries from the water and set aside.
- Slice your yellow onions and set aside.
- *I love sliced raw onions in a salad—if this is not your thing, simply omit them from the recipe.
- When you are ready to assemble the salads, toss the pea greens and the sliced yellow onions in a large mixing bowl.
- Season the greens and onions with a small pinch of salt and some freshly-ground black pepper, and toss the contents in the mixing bowl with a small quantity of the Lemon Pepper Vinaigrette.
- *Use enough vinaigrette to coat the greens and onions completely, without leaving them dripping wet.
- Serve salads with a large mound of dressed pea greens and onions, topped with a handful of toasted pecans and plumped cranberries.
- Top each plate with a little more of the Lemon Pepper Vinaigrette, if desired, and garnish each plate with a sprinkle of fresh, finely-sliced chives.
Notes
- Any leftover Lemon Pepper Vinaigrette can be stored in your fridge for the next day. Just remember to bring the vinaigrette back up to room temperature before re-emulsifying and serving.
- If you want to turn this salad into a hearty meal, add some cold leftover chicken you have lying around in your fridge from the night before.