Name: Salade printemps with goat’s curd and herb vinaigrette
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 1 bunch baby leeks (about 10), trimmed and washed; 510 gm asparagus, trimmed, ends peeled, halved diagonally (3 bunches); 130 gm podded broad beans (about 450gm unpodded); 40 gm podded peas (about 120gm unpodded) (1/4 cup); 8 zucchini flowers, trimmed, stamens removed; 1 tbsp tarragon leaves; 1 cup (loosely packed) baby pea tendrils; 150 gm goat's curd; Finely grated lemon rind, to serve; Herb vinaigrette; 3/4 cup (loosely packed) finely chopped young flat-leaf parsley; 3/4 cup (firmly packed) finely chopped mint; 150 ml mild-flavoured extra-virgin olive oil; ½ garlic clove, crushed; Juice of ½ lemon, or to taste

Salade printemps with goat’s curd and herb vinaigrette

Creamy goat's curd and crisp spring vegetables come together in this herbaceous French salad.

Serves 4

Prep

15M

Cook

Total

20M

Any mix of raw and blanched vegetables will work well with this dressing. If you’re using fresh spring baby vegetables, you won’t need to blanch them. Broad beans do need a quick blanch for the best texture and flavour, but the outer skin on smaller ones don’t need to be double peeled. Goat’s curd is always a welcome addition to salads; we used Meredith’s Dairy goat’s curd in this recipe.

Ingredients

1 bunch baby leeks (about 10), trimmed and washed

510 gm asparagus, trimmed, ends peeled, halved diagonally (3 bunches)

130 gm podded broad beans (about 450gm unpodded)

40 gm podded peas (about 120gm unpodded) (1/4 cup)

8 zucchini flowers, trimmed, stamens removed

1 tbsp tarragon leaves

1 cup (loosely packed) baby pea tendrils

150 gm goat's curd

Finely grated lemon rind, to serve

Herb vinaigrette

3/4 cup (loosely packed) finely chopped young flat-leaf parsley

3/4 cup (firmly packed) finely chopped mint

150 ml mild-flavoured extra-virgin olive oil

½ garlic clove, crushed

Juice of ½ lemon, or to taste

Method

Main

1.Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add leeks and boil for 1 minute, then add asparagus and boil for 1 minute, then add broad beans, peas and zucchini flowers, and boil for a further 2 minutes. Drain well, refresh in iced water, drain again, spread on a clean tea towel and pat dry (the leeks in particular can hold a lot of water, which will dilute the dressing). Transfer to a bowl.

2.For herb dressing, whisk ingredients in a bowl, season to taste, then add half to the vegetables and toss to combine.

3.Arrange vegetables on a platter. Spoon on goat’s curd, scatter with tarragon, pea tendrils and lemon rind, season to taste and serve with remaining dressing.