Zingy Spring Salad with Kumquats and Green Garlic Vinaigrette

BY Haley Hazell
April 28, 2020

Breakfasts

Photography by Haley Hazell

Prep Time	COOK TIME	SERVE
30 minutes	35 minutes	4

Make the most of spring produce from Specialty Produce

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Make the most of the unique seasonal bounty at Specialty Produce with this spring salad. Blanching your vegetables results in a beautiful, bright green color and snappy crunch that pairs perfectly with creamy mozzarella, fresh mint, and tart citrus.

Recipe sponsored by Specialty Produce.

Ingredients

1 bunch asparagus
5–6 kumquats
1 pound english peas (about 1 cup of shelled peas)
1 bunch baby broccoli
Salt (for blanching water)
1 stalk of green garlic
1 Meyer lemon
¼ cup olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
¼ cup picked mint leaves
¼ cup pea shoots
1 ball of mozzarella

Instructions

Prep your produce
Trim and cut asparagus into bite-sized pieces.
Thinly slice a handful of kumquats.
Shell 1 cup of fresh english peas.
Trim ends of baby broccoli.
Blanch your veggies
Bring a pot of heavily salted water to a roaring boil and prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice and water.
Blanch shelled peas by dropping into boiling water. Cook for 30 seconds -1 minute until all peas float to the top and are bright green. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the peas to the ice bath to immediately stop cooking. Remove peas from ice water and set aside.
Blanch baby broccoli by dropping into boiling water. Cook for about 1 minute until all just tender and bright green. Using tongs, transfer the baby broccoli to the ice bath to immediately stop cooking. Remove baby broccoli from ice water and set aside.
Blanch asparagus by dropping into boiling water. Cook for 2 minutes until just tender and are bright green. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the asparagus to the ice bath to immediately stop cooking. Remove asparagus from ice water and set aside.
Make your dressing
To make the meyer lemon green garlic dressing, finely chop 1 stalk of green garlic. Transfer chopped green garlic into a small bowl. Squeeze the juice of 1 meyer lemon and top with ¼ cup of olive oil. Season generously with salt and pepper. Whisk to combine.
Bring it all together
In a large bowl, toss blanched asparagus and baby broccoli with ¾ of dressing.
Transfer dressed vegetables to a platter and top with peas, big chunks of fresh mozzarella, sliced kumquats, picked mint leaves, and pea shoots. Drizzle remaining dressing on top of the cheese. Finish with flaky salt and fresh cracked black pepper.

Haley Hazell

As a freelance food stylist, visual designer and recipe developer, for Haley it is all about balance—balancing careers, tastes and textures. Haley attended culinary school at San Francisco Cooking School and recently relocated to San Diego, where she is getting to know this amazing county one taco shop at a time. She loves to cook and eat with the seasons, letting the amazing peak produce from her local farmers market inspire her recipe writing. To her, simple and delicious recipes start with quality ingredients and end with full bellies and plates licked clean.