Servings: 4
Salad:
1 bunch Purple Spouting Broccoli, ends trimmed and stalks cut to separate (if unavailable substitute broccolini)
4 oz Snap Peas, ends trimmed and strings removed
about 3 oz Baby Spinach leaves
A few sprigs of mint or leaves
3 oz fresh Mozzarella, torn in pieces
2 tbsp toasted Pine Nuts
Lemon Garlic White Balsamic Dressing:
1 garlic clove, very finely minced or grated on a microplane
1 tsp stone ground Dijon mustard
grated zest of 1/2 a lemon
2 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 tbsp olive oil
Finishing Salt
DIRECTIONS
1. Prepare a large pot of boiling water, salted to taste like the sea, for blanching the broccoli and peas. Also prepare an ice bath to immediately stop the cooking and chill the vegetables.
2. Blanch the peas until you see the green color brighten - about 30 seconds. Remove to the ice bath and, when chilled, strain out and spread on a towel to dry. You may need to add more ice so the water is cold when used to chill broccoli.
3. Blanch the purple spouting broccoli until the green color brightens. This should take about 1 minute, but can vary with the size of your broccoli spears. Remove to the ice bath. When chilled, strain out and spread on a towel to dry.
4. Wash and dry spinach.
5. Make the salad dressing in small jar with a lid ( I use a 1/2 pint Mason jar). Add the minced garlic, mustard, lemon zest, vinegar, and salt. Shake to combine. Add olive oil and shake vigorously to emulsify. Taste for salt and acidity. If your white balsamic is fairly sweet, you may want to add a squeeze of lemon juice.
Assemble the salad (this salad looks best served on a small platter or shallow flat bowl).
1. Place the spinach in a small bowl. Dress with just enough dressing to coat the leaves. Spread the spinach leaves on your platter.
2. Place the broccoli and snap peas in the same bowl you used for the spinach. Add enough dressing to coat the purple spouting broccoli spears and snap peas. Scatter over the spinach.
3. Tear mozzarella into bite sized pieces and scatter over the top.
4. Sprinkle the toasted pine nuts over, next.
5. Scatter mint leaves (whole or cut in ribbons).
6. Sprinkle with a finishing sea salt, such as Maldon.