Even though it’s kind of grey and rainy outside right now it’s undeniable that spring has arrived. It’s how the air smells, it’s the more cheery mood you feel, it’s the sun slowly getting warmer and it’s also the what feels like 500 birds that give a concert right in front of my bedroom window at 4 am.
But I don’t complain. It’s still way better than a wake up call at 4 am by a downpour.
But let’s not talk about sleep of better lack thereof. Let’s talk spring food instead.
It’s no secret that I am not the biggest salad fan out there. I think it just reminds me a bit too much of the times where cutting down calories was my thing and salads where a safe option when I had to eat out. Don’t get me wrong I don’t mind salad but it is not the most enjoyable meal for me either. Unless it has loads and loads of great toppings and then to be honest it’s not a light food option anymore and so completely diametral to the whole reason of ordering a salad instead of a burger.
Yet after making the decision to eat a bit healthier again aka incorporating more greens and fruit into my diet again I tried to come up with a few lighter recipes that do not automatically lack flavors and are still satisfying.
So I tried to empty my mind and thought about enjoyable salad. After banning all images of fried toppings and heaps of croutons from my mind I could only think of caprese. But okay whatever floats my boat I am going to go with it. The idea of an Italian Style Spring Salad Recipe was born.
I love love love mozzarella and let’s be real here cheese is always a huge part of making my meals satisfying. You gotta have some protein and fats, right? Because I had a pound of asparagus in the fridge To pimp things up a bit I also threw in some of my beloved asparagus. The epitome of any spring food for me and sadly only available for far to short here in Germany.
Asparagus is a wonderful addition to any salad because next to a new flavor it also brings a new texture to the dish. Is this just me or is a variety of textures also definitely a satisfier?
So here we go with a wonderfully ligth yet satisfying Italian Style Spring Salad Recipe which holds not only a bunch of different flavors and textures but also only takes a few minutes to whip up. Spring on my table – I am definitely into that!
Italian Style Spring Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 handful asparagus - about 6 spears
- 2 handful lettuce - I use a mix of cos lettuce and radicchio
- 1 cup cocktail tomatoes
- 1/2 cup mini buffalo mozzarella
- 2 cloves of garlic
- juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 T crema di balsamico
- salt and pepper to taste
- chopped basil to garnish
Instructions
- Cut the asparagus in bite size and give it into a pan
- But the garlic and add it to the asparagus
- Add the olive oil and lemon juice and stir through
- Roast the asparagus for a few minutes just to heat it up. I prefer it still raw yet slightly warm
- In the meantime cut the lettuce into small stripes and give it to a bowl
- Chop the tomatoes and add it to the bowl
- Once the asparagus is warm empty the whole pan in the bowl. Make sure to get out all leftover oil and garlic
- Add the salt and pepper and the crema di balsamico and mix well using your hands or a large spoon
- Now add the mozzarella and garnish with chopped basil
Notes
Well that’s a salad I enjoy. Next time I will definitely pair it with a piece of warm foccaccia. That’s definitely something that floats my boat!
So for the next weeks I make it a little challenge for myself to remove salad from the stigma of being a diet food for me. That and making salads that don’t leave me snacking through the rest of the day.
Is salad diet food for you?
I love a good salad and this one definitely fits the bill. The crispy asparagus amps up the texture and the fresh mozzarella is a fantastic way to incorporate some flavor. Plus protein, bro. This is beautiful. I love it.
Yeah protein bro 😀 Thank you lovelie. You’re the salad queen :o*
Love the sound of this salad! And I also love you have kept the dressing simple and traditional… I like that, means you can taste all the flavours of the veg and the smoothness of the cheese.
Salad for me, used to be the diet option, and the only option when I was out. Now if I make a salad it’s only at home as the ones in restaurants tend to be so disappointing. My home salads are stuffed full of meat, veg and all other kinds of goodies!!! In fact, it’s mostly the other stuff with some green at the side! Ha!
Thank you sweetie 🙂 Confession: I don’t like salad dressing. This is the max I can handle.
Exactly! ) out of 10 times it’s disappointing unless you’re in the US. Yet almost no salad is a diet option there 😉 Love it!
I am so glad to see the asparagus loving here- it’s one of my favs, especially roasted (once I roasted it to the point that it became barbie’s hair….).
Oh and salad is totally not a diet food if you do it right. aka cheesecake factory or lettuce-less salads. Sadly, they are all failures in australia!
I hear you! There’s only one place – a Turkish restaurant – in Munich where I like to order salads. There is some green but they do marvellous on the topping front. And they serve it with the best warm Turkish bread ever!
Let me tell you about the asparagus we had for Easter Sunday. My mum in law froze it and the cooked it. It was so mushy you couldn’t even poke a fork in it. And you didn’t have to chew. So I passed on the asparagus and focused on the beef.