Green Goddess Salad with pea shoot, asparagus and avocado
Not another “Green Goddess” Salad, this delicious summer dish is made with pea shoots, asparagus and avocado all brought together with a creamy lemon and herb dressing.
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What is a Green Goddess Salad?
I first shared my version of the Green Goddess Salad way back in 2011. At the time it felt as though every blog had their own recipe and I didn’t want to feel left out. What I didn’t realise was that this would end up being one of the recipes I would make the most when I wanted something light, bright and healthy for my own lunch.
The term “Green Goddess” actually refers to the salad dressing rather than the whole dish. A Green Goddess salad dressing is usually made of mayonnaise, sour cream and a range of fresh hers like chives, tarragon and parsley. Since it’s taken the internet by storm it’s also been popular to add avocado to the dressing to give it a vivid green colour. But I prefer to scoop the avocado on to my salad rather than into the dressing.
Although you can use any selection of vegetables you’d like, my favourite combination is pea shoots, asparagus, avocado, cucumber and spring onions.
Variations
Shake up the salad dressing
You can use any combination of herbs (coriander, mint, basil, parsley, dill, tarragon, chives or even chervil), dairy or dairy substitute (mayonnaise, yogurt, sour cream, crème fraîche), and acid (any citrus fruit will work well as will apple cider vinegar). So long as you have those 3 key components you’ve got yourself a delicious dressing.
Make it vegan
Since turning vegan I still enjoy this Green Goddess Salad regularly. To make the dressing I simply use vegan mayo and Oatly crème fraîche in place of the sour cream. It’s that easy!
Leafy greens
I love pea shoots; they are so sweet and tender. But if you want more crunch to your salad then why not try iceberg lettuce next time? If you like a bitter, peppery hit to your salad then chicory or rocket would work well. Spinach and romaine are also classic leaves that will work with whatever vegetables you choose to use.
More vegetable goodness
The Green Goddess salad dressing is so versatile you can add it to any combination of veggies you wish. I like to stick to green vegetables and often add celery, green pepper, artichoke and griddle courgette. Green olives or caper berries are also a great addition.
But you don’t have to stick to green vegetables. Why not throw in a tomato or two?
Add some protein
If you eat meat then grilled chicken or salmon work perfectly with this recipe. If you’re vegetarian then why not try halloumi? For a plant based diet, you can use a chicken substitute or add chickpeas or other pulses to the salad (or why not both!)
The recipe
Green Goddess Salad with pea shoots, asparagus and avocado
Ingredients
For the dressing
- 5 tbsp mayonnaise
- 5 tbsp sour cream
- 0.5 lemon juice only
- 2 tbsp parsley finely chopped
- 2 tbsp chives finely chopped
- 2 tbsp tarragon finely chopped
- salt and pepper
For the salad
- 4 handfuls pea shoots
- 8 asparagus
- 4 inches cucumber diced
- 4 spring onions sliced
- 1 avocado
- 2 tbsp parmesan or vegan parmesan
Instructions
To make the dressing
- Mix together the mayonnaise, sour cream and lemon juice until you have a smooth, runny consistency.
- Stir in the chopped herbs and taste before seasoning.
- Place to one side until you're ready to serve.
To make the salad
- Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil Add the asparagus to the water and cook for 2–4 minutes, depending on the thickness of the stems. Once tender, remove the asparagus from the hot water and plunge into a bowl of ice water.
- In the meantime, assemble the pea shoots, followed by the other veggies.
- Cut the asparagus into bite size pieces then add to the rest of the salad.
- Drizzle over the dressing then a sprinkling of parmesan to serve.
Nutrition
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