Bottom Line We've been eating way too many carbs lately from gnocchi to focaccia. This bright fresh salad is the cure for that, but without ignoring the goodness of an excellent crouton.
We have made a million types of starchy, carby goodness since the start of quarantine. From gnocchi to focaccia it has honestly been heaven. I've learned so much had a ton of fun, and am eating something super tasty most nights. And yet, I hate to say it, but a girl can only have so much potato based pasta before she just craves the color green. And yes, the ravioli below had spinach in the pasta dough. But they still tasted like white pasta. So it counts.
I'm serious. Maybe it was the fact that the masks my mother-in-law made us are green. Maybe it was the fact that Trader Joe's has fresh shelled peas, that I absolutely adore. Maybe it was the fact that it's getting warm, and there are green buds on the trees. Whatever it was, I needed green foods. Crunchy, crisp, and colorful.
However, I did need to use up some fluffy crusty bread that I'd made a few days prior. I couldn't completely neglect the carbs in my life. With my bread in mind, and my haul of green things from the grocery store, I worked out a plan.
The asparagus and peas were quickly blanched and cooled in ice water. The
fennel, which can be overwhelming in some forms, was sliced as thin as I could get it without breaking out the mandolin. My friend Dan sliced off a very large chunk of his finger on a mandolin about a year ago, and I haven't had the courage to touch mine since. If you know me, you know that I almost always have a cut on my hand from regular kitchen tools. I wanted to gain a dinner, not loose a finger. (Yes, I know about the safety hat. I find it annoying, and I just wanted to use the knife). My english cucumber was halved lengthwise and smooshed a little bit to release some juice. I cut it into fun diagonal pieces that added some interesting texture. I'm a big fan of lettuce free salads, so I tore up some leftover herbs as the "lettuce". Finally, I crumbled in some salty feta.
I went back and forth on a dressing. But we had buttermilk from some fried chicken we made last week. (The fried chicken was pretty amazing, but you'll have to go to HMart to get some of the supplies, and there were a lot of steps. Worth it, but a project for sure.) So a buttermilk dressing it was. I mixed equal parts buttermilk and lemon for brightness, and some garlic for spice. I tossed and mixed it all together. But, something, I thought, was missing.
You know where this is going. I made big crusty, buttery croutons. So I guess, the cure to too much bread is just more bread. And a side of green things too.