Spring Salad with Pesto Vinaigrette

Don’t be intimidated by this recipe. Once you prepare the pesto, it can be used for another dinner option and for the dressing.

If you are short on time, you can also purchase crispy garbanzo beans in the snack section, but preparing them is easy.

Spring Salad Ingredients:

• 2 cups Butter Lettuce
• 1 bunch asparagus, tender sections only-blanched briefly in hot water
• ½ cup snow peas
• 1 cup sugar snap peas
• 2 radishes, thinly sliced
• ½ cup goat cheese crumbles
• 1 avocado, pitted and diced
• Sprinkle of lemon juice and lemon zest from one lemon
• ½ cup roasted chickpeas (see recipe that follows)
• ¼ cup toasted and chopped pistachio nuts
• Sprigs of fresh basil and mint (or chives and tarragon)
• Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
• ½ cup O&V Pesto Vinaigrette *(recipe follows)

Directions:

1. Roughly chop the pistachios and place in a small dry saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally until aromatic and slightly toasted. Set aside to cool.
2. Dice the avocado and sprinkle it with lemon juice.
3. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Blanch the asparagus, peas, and sugar snap peas for about 1 minute in the boiling water, then plunge into a bowl of iced water for 1 minute. Drain, pat dry, and chop into bite-size pieces.
4. Toss the asparagus, peas, and sugar snap peas with 2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.
5. Arrange the butter lettuce on a platter, place the asparagus and pea mixture over, and arrange the radishes, avocado, goat cheese crumbles, roasted chickpeas, and toasted pistachios. Sprinkle with herbs and lemon zest.
6. Drizzle with remaining pesto vinaigrette and top with freshly ground pepper. Serve

Avocado Pesto Ingredients:

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 cup packed fresh basil
• ¼ cup salted or unsalted pistachios (adjust by adding no salt if using salted )
• 2 T lemon juice
• ¼ t pepper
• 3 garlic cloves
• ¼ to 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend to a paste. Add additional olive oil or filtered water to achieve a smooth sauce.
2. Toss 2-3 tablespoons of the pesto with cooked pasta, vegetable noodles, or quinoa and top with protein and roasted vegetables.
3. Toss 2 tablespoons of pesto with cut-up vegetables and roast at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
4. Toss 2-3 tablespoons of pesto with cut-up chicken, tofu or shrimp, vegetables, and sweet potatoes. Place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake at 425 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
   1. Add ¼ cup of prepared pesto to 1 cup of garlic or basil-infused olive oil for pesto vinaigrette.

Click this LINK to view the recipe for the Crispy Roasted Garbanzo Beans

These tasty beans can serve as a snack or can be sprinkled on salads for an additional protein.