During the warmer months, who wants to be stuck in the kitchen cooking instead of enjoying the fabulous weather? Salads are light, highly nutritious and only take a few moments to prepare.

The key to a spring salad that goes beyond good and into the sublime is using super-fresh seasonal ingredients like tender salad greens, artichokes, avocado and peas. These five delectable spring salads are the ideal accompaniment to practically any dish, and some are even hearty enough to be a meal in themselves along with some fresh organic bread.

Strawberry Spring Salad

Recipe via: Cooking Light 

Strawberries are a great fruit to integrate a little sweetness into savory salads – they’re so juicy and bursting with flavor, and pair up beautifully with peppery Italian salad greens. Makes 4 servings. Pair it with a light, fruity white wine like Fetzer Reisling.

INGREDIENTS

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

3 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon honey

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

3 cups quartered strawberries

1  (10-ounce) bag Italian-blend salad greens (about 6 cups)

4 teaspoons toasted pine nuts

PREPARATION

Combine first 6 ingredients, and stir well with a whisk.

Combine strawberries and greens. Add vinegar mixture; toss to coat. Sprinkle with nuts.

Grapefruit Avocado Spring Salad

Recipe via: Epicurious 

Tart pink grapefruit really livens up the flavor of avocados, and the combination is downright irresistible with the addition of lettuce, herbs and walnuts. Pair it with a slightly dry white wine like Frey Chardonnay, which features delicate scents of apple blossoms followed by pear and ripe apple.

INGREDIENTS

1/3 cup walnut oil or other nut oil

2 medium shallots, minced

2 tablespoons fresh pink grapefruit juice

1/4 teaspoon sugar

3 pink grapefruits

3 Belgian endive heads

1 head radicchio, thinly sliced

2 avocados, peeled, pitted

1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

Toasted chopped walnuts

PREPARATION

Whisk first 4 ingredients together in a small bowl. Season dressing to taste with salt and white pepper.

Using small sharp knife, remove peel and white pith from grapefruits. Working over large bowl to catch juices, cut between membranes to release segments. Squeeze juice from membranes into bowl. Reserve juice and segments separately. Trim base from endive heads and separate into spears. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover dressing, grapefruit juice and endive separately and refrigerate.)

Place sliced radicchio on platter. Arrange endive spears in rows atop radicchio. Thinly slice avocados. Dip avocado slices into reserved grapefruit juice. Fill each endive spear with 1 avocado slice and top with 1 grapefruit segment. Whisk chopped fresh chives into dressing and drizzle over salad. Sprinkle with toasted chopped walnuts.

Italian Spring Salad with Peas, Mozzarella and Spinach Pesto

Recipe via:  Lucillian 

Creamy avocado and mozzarella plus peas and fresh spinach pesto make a lovely, light salad that’s perfect for lunch. Complement the flavors in this dish with a robust, peppery red wine like Frog’s Leap Petit Sirah. 

INGREDIENTS

pesto:

1 large handful baby spinach leaves

6-8 walnut halves

1-2 tblsp parmesan, freshly grated

a pinch or two of ground nutmeg

salt

extra-virgin olive oil

salad:

200 ml/0,85 cup English peas, fresh if possible

1 avocado

1 mozzarella á 200 g/7 oz, as fresh as you can get

PREPARATION

Chop the spinach and walnuts really fine, add the parmesan, nutmeg and a little salt and mix well. Add enough olive oil to give it the desired texture, stirring all the time. You can also do it with a blender or mixer but it is pretty fast and easy this way too.

Cut the mozzarella in two and leave it to drip off excess liquid if you want to avoid that the salad gets too liquid. (I forgot to do it as you can see in the middle photo)

Cook the peas and drain them.

Dice avocado and mozzarella and put in in a bowl, add peas and mix.

Put the salad on plates and spoon plenty of pesto on top before serving.

Confetti Spring Salad

Recipe via: Whole Foods 

Crisp spring veggies like peas, asparagus and spinach provide a tasty contrast to al dente pasta shells. Throw some cubed tempeh into this colorful salad for additional protein and it’s a full meal in itself.

INGREDIENTS

Salad

1 pound (dry) Rigatoni pasta

2 carrots, chopped, about 1/2 cup

1/2 cup fresh peas

1 bunch broccoli florets, about 1/2 cup

1 pound fresh asparagus

1 red bell pepper, chopped, about 1/2 cup

3 red radishes, sliced

8 ounces baby spinach leaves, washed

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

1 small bunch green onions, sliced, about 1/2 cup

Dressing

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste

PREPARATION

Cook pasta according to directions on package.

While pasta is cooking, bring 2 inches of water to a boil in a saucepan. Place carrots in water and lightly blanch in water for 1 minute, or until bright orange. Remove with slotted spoon and place in large mixing bowl. Repeat blanching process with peas. Add peas to mixing bowl. Blanch broccoli, remove from water and place on cutting board. Chop and add to mixing bowl.

Blanch asparagus, remove from water, place on cutting board and cut into 1 inch pieces. Add to mixing bowl. Add drained pasta to mixing bowl. Mix gently with blanched vegetables. Add bell pepper and radishes. Toss to mix.

Mix olive oil, balsamic vinegar, basil, salt and pepper. Add to salad and toss gently.

Place one fourth of the spinach leaves on each serving plate. Top with pasta salad and garnish each salad with tomatoes and green onions.

I Heart Artichokes Salad with Tuna

Recipe via:  FitSugar 

Artichokes are one of spring’s most popular veggies, and you don’t have to do much to enhance their wonderful flavor. Spinach, mushrooms, and omega 3 fatty acid-packed tuna provide tons of healthy antioxidants, and a splash of hot sauce makes the combined flavors shine. A crisp white wine like Alma Rosa Pinot Blanc is just the ticket.

INGREDIENTS

Salad

3 ounces baby spinach or baby spinach/lettuce mix

7 ounces artichoke hearts, drained and quartered

3 ounces brown or white mushrooms, ends trimmed and thinly sliced

5 medium sun-dried tomatoes, drained of oil and cut into strips

3 ounces chunk white or albacore tuna in water, drained

1/2 cup nicoise olives

1/2 carrot

Dressing

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 clove of roasted garlic, minced

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

2 dashes hot pepper sauce, such as Tabasco

1 pinch sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme

Pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons olive oil

PREPARATION

Make the dressing: In a small bowl, combine first 8 ingredients and mix well with a whisk. Gradually add olive oil, whisking until emulsified.

In a large salad bowl, combine spinach, artichoke hearts, mushroom slices, sun-dried tomatoes, tuna, and olives. Using a cheese grater, shred the carrot on top.

Add dressing and toss to combine.

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