Garden Veggie Salad with Simple Vinaigrette

Summer salad never tasted this good! This garden veggie salad with simple vinaigrette is light and refreshing, made with fresh summer vegetables, hazelnuts, and a quick simple vinaigrette.

Summer is a time when the colours of nature are in full bloom and are showing themselves after the deep slumber of the winter, and when the air is heavy with the perfume of flowers and precious buds that are finally able to pop up and come out to play. There’s a freshness and a brightness to the foods that we are now beginning to crave, and their colourful crispness can do our bodies good.

A tasty and simple salad can be a tremendously comforting thing when it’s filled with the summer jewels of green peas, asparagus, colourful carrots, sugar snap peas, and radish tossed together with a vinaigrette dressing. It’s flavourful, bright, and refreshing. Healthy doesn’t mean tasteless! It’s quite the opposite. Enjoy it on its own for a light lunch, or serve it as a side dish with almost anything you like.

I enjoy the flavour of both dried herbs and fresh herbs for my salad recipes. The dried herbs are a good choice to use during the roasting process, and the fresh herbs are colourful and tasty finishers. For this recipe I use dried mint during the roasting process, and a sprinkle of fresh mint and parsley just before serving.

Though the vegetables in this salad are crunchy already but to add that extra touch of crunch I’ve used toasted hazelnuts.

How to Roast Carrots

Carrots prepared any way are tasty, but I’d have to say that roasted carrots are my favourite. And oven roasted carrots are one of the easiest, prettiest and most versatile.

The flavour of tender roasted carrots benefits deliciously from a hint of something sweet and slightly tangy, not to mention a sprinkle of herbs. And these roasted carrots look so pretty when dressed up!

Here’s the basics for oven roasted carrots:

1. I use baby carrots, as these are washed and, and ready to go! You can peel them if you like.
2. The carrots are tossed with a bit of olive oil, spices (red chilli power, ground cumin and coriander) and salt and pepper, and any additional kind of dried herbs that you fancy (I use mint for this recipe).
3. Using a parchment-lined sheet pan, I spread the carrots in a single layer.
4. I roast the carrots for about 8 minutes, or until the carrots are tender, yet still have a bit of a “bite” to them.

Garden Veggie Salad Ingredients:

Here’s what you’ll need to make this garden salad recipe:

This Garden Salad recipe comes together in 4 easy steps:

• Asparagus – Look for thin, snappy spears, not too thick.
• Peas – I love to use fresh peas when they are in season as they are firm and have a vibrant green colour. But, if you like to keep things simple, use thawed frozen peas.
• Carrots (roasted) – Carrots prepared anyway is tasty. These spiced, roasted carrots are a great addition to this salad.
• Sugar snap peas – Adds the perfect crunch and sweetness
• Radishes – For a crunchy texture and peppery flavour.
• Easy Vinaigrette  – This rich, lemony dressing gives the salad a lightly creamy coating. If you want to get ahead, you can make the dressing up to a day in advance.
• Hazelnuts – For rich, nutty flavor and extra crunch.
• And fresh mint – To take it all over the top.

• Roast the carrots : Peel the baby carrots and toss with a bit of olive oil, spices (red chilli power, ground cumin and coriander) and salt and pepper, and whatever kind of dried herbs. Using a parchment-lined sheet pan, spread the carrots in a single layer. Roast the carrots for about 8-10 minutes, or until the carrots are tender, yet still have a bit of a “bite” to them.
• Cook the asparagus, peas and sugar snap peas. Blanch it for 1 minute in a large pot of salted boiling water. Then, transfer it to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain the vegetables and pat it dry.

• Next, make the vinaigrette – Stir all the ingredients together, adding salt and pepper to taste.  
• Finally, assemble! Once everything is cooked and cooled, place all the vegetables in a serving platter. Pour over the dressing and mis well. Sprinkle with fresh mint leaves and parsley taste and adjust the seasonings. Before serving top with the toasted hazelnut.

Helpful Tips and Tricks to Make this Garden Veggie Salad with Simple Vinaigrette:

• If you can’t find fresh peas, you can use frozen and cook them for the same amount of time as you would for fresh.
• Be careful not to boil the asparagus, sugar snap peas and peas for too long as they will end up soft and mushy. This recipe works well with greens also so feel free to add spinach, arugula or other leafy, tender greens.
• Change up the veggies to your choice. Instead of radishes, add some chopped green pepper or celery.
• Replace the hazelnuts with other nuts or seeds such as raw almonds, walnuts or sunflower seeds.
• Egg: Boiled egg does add some extra flavour and soft texture to this garden salad.

If you tried this Garden Veggie Salad recipe or any other recipe on our blog let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment/rating below! Be sure to follow along on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook for even more amazing recipes!

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Serves: 4 As A Main Prep Time: 25 Minutes Cooking Time: 10 Minutes 10 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 3 voted )

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Ingredients

For Roasting Carrots 

• 300 grams baby carrots
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• ½ tsp cumin powder
• ½ tsp coriander powder
• ½ tsp dried mint
• 1 tbsp olive oil

For the Salad

• 250g fresh asparagus
• 200g  fresh peas
• 200g radish, finely sliced
• 100g sugar snap peas
• ¼ cup fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp parsley, chopped
• ¼ cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped 

For the Vinaigrette 

• 3 tbsp extra virgin live oil
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• ½ tsp dried mint
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper

method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. 
2. Clean and peel the carrots. If they are too thick slice them lengthways. Arrange them on a large baking tray, mixing them with the chilli, cumin, coriander powder and mint.
   Drizzle a tbsp of oil and some salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 8-10 minutes. Once cooked, remove and leave to cool. The carrots should be slightly tender, but still have a good bite to them to keep the salad crunchy. 
3. While the carrots are roasting, remove the wooden, stalky part of the asparagus, and if they are thick slice them lengthways. Blanch the asparagus, sugar snap peas, and peas in salted water for 1 minute before refreshing them in ice-cold water (this helps the vegetables retain a nice crunch and colour, and this stop them from overcooking). Drain and set aside.
4. Put all the ingredients of the vinaigrette in a mixing bowl and whisk together.
5. Once everything has cooked and cooled, place all the vegetable in a serving dish and pour over the dressing and mix well. Top with roughly chopped  mint and parsley and add the hazelnut just before serving.

Did You Make This Recipe?

If you did, take a picture and tag me on Instagram at @poetryofspices!