Summer is here, and yet spring is still finishing it’s run at the farmer’s market. Featured in the bowl above you will see my favorite springtime vegetable: sugar snap peas. I bought a whole bunch Saturday at Union Square and created my new signature Spring To Summer Salad. To make the salad, I just stringed the snap peas (you pull the little tail across the pea until the string is gone), boiled some beets (I know chefs love to roast them, but I like boiling better and think the result is just the same–you drop in boiling water (with some vinegar and salt) and then, when you can get a knife through the beet, it’s done), peeled some carrots, sliced some radishes and then hard boiled those eggs. To get your eggs pretty like mine, just place the eggs at the bottom of a saucepan, cover with cold water, put on the heat, when it comes just to the boil, put the lid on, turn the heat off and wait 15 minutes. Then drop the eggs in ice water, peel under a faucet, and wha-la: pretty eggs. I tossed all those vegetables with really good olive oil, some balsamic vinegar (and a splash of red when I ran out of balsamic), salt, pepper and it was quite a feast. But to gild the lily, I placed a giant wedge of Cato Farm’s blue cheese on top and served with some olive bread. And that’s what I call a Spring to Summer Salad.
5 thoughts on “Spring To Summer Salad”
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Hi Adam – I boil beets too. They cook faster, you save on utilities, and you don’t heat up the whole kitchen with the oven just for a few beets. Gorgeous photo!
What a beautiful picture! It seems that putting that already colorful salad against a blue bowl background gives it a touch of almost of every color in the rainbow! Compliments on your seasonally inspired creation. Perhaps we should come up with a spring to summer fruit salad :)
Happy summer!
That is one handsome salad. I must try my hand at it.
(I use that same technique for flawless hard-boiled eggs, too.)
Mmmm, this is gorgeous! Those peas look so puffy and delicious. My sister taught me that boiled egg technique a while ago and it’s fail-proof. I’ve been forgetting to eat beats – thanks for reminding me!
Adam, I tried the beets both by boiling and in tin foil in the oven drizzled with olive oil, sea salt, a garlic clove, and a shallot. There really wasn’t any comparison. I suppose if you enjoy the beet ala virgin then boiling with vinegar will do.