Spring Salad

This salad really makes the most of the May hero ingredients.  Both asparagus and purple sprouting broccoli are at their best this month. I would suggest using lamb’s lettuce as it’s also coming into season right now, but in current times, any salad leaf will work perfectly! I’ve gone with rocket here because that’s what I had!

Makes a lovely lunch for 2

Ingredients:
6 spears of asparagus
100g of purple sprouting or tenderstem broccoli 
Good handful of salad leaves
8-10 mint leaves, finely sliced or chopped
50g of peas, roughly 2 handfuls (frozen is perfect for this)
100g bulgar wheat or quinoa (or use a mixture of the two)
60g goats cheese

Juice of half a lemon
Olive oil 
Salt and pepper 

Method:

1. Bring the grains to a boil in enough water to just cover them. Turn down to a low heat for a further 15 minutes. Keep an eye on them and add a little more water if needed. You want the grains to fully absorb all the water - and become soft.

2. Remove the woody stalks from the asparagus and chop into roughly 3cm chunks, chop the broccoli to around the same size.

3. In a separate pan, plunge the asparagus and broccoli into boiling, salted water. Boil for just a minute or so and drain. Run under cold water to stop the greens from continuing to cook.

4. Heat a little oil in a frying pan, add in your asparagus and broccoli. After a minute or so, add in the frozen peas and season. Let these cook on a medium heat for 3-4 minutes. They should still be lovely and green!

5. Once the grains have cooked, it’s time to assemble.

6. Add the greens and grains to a large serving bowl, to this add your salad leaves and mint.  Dress it with a healthy glug of olive oil, the juice of half a lemon and some salt and pepper.

7. Plate up your salad and finish it by dotting some soft goats cheese and a final squeeze of lemon.