By the time this post goes up, Paloma and I will be in Russia spending some much anticipated time with grandma. I will try to keep Instagram updated with some snaps from our travels.
I leave you with this salad, made with plenty of nutritious grains, herbs, and two stars of the spring/summer farmer’s market – asparagus and strawberries. It’s a variation on one my all time favorite salads, from our book (Fava Bean, Quinoa, and Mint Salad on pg. 89) – simple, rich in textures, filling and very fresh. Mint is essential to the flavor here, so try not to skip it.
Enjoy the beginning of summer!
Multigrain Summer Salad with Strawberries and Asparagus
for the salad
1 bunch asparagus
2 cups strawberries – sliced
handful fresh mint leaves – chopped
handful basil leaves – chopped (optional)
2 cups cooked grains (I used a combination of sorghum, red rice and spelt, but any grains like quinoa, faro, frekkeh, any type of rice, or even buckwheat would work fine here)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper (optional)
for the dressing
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
pinch of sea salt
1. Cut tough ends off the asparagus. Cook it your preferred way – blanch, steam or grill. I like to blanch asparagus in salted water for 3 minutes, then shock it in an ice bath, so it stays bright green and crispy. Slice into bite sized pieces.
2. Whisk together all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl until well combined and set aside.
2. Place cooked grains into a large mixing bowl. Add asparagus, strawberries and herbs. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if desired. This salad tastes best when eaten within a day.
This looks like a wonderful, fresh salad! Perfect for this time of the year! I’m going to make it very soon!
I love spelt in salads for summer. Last month I did one with mango, asparagus, oven-cooked eggplant and smoked tofu, it was amazing! I think I would love it with strawberries too, unfortunately I find the ones in my garden to be too bitter. But since I have a lot of raspberries, maybe I’ll make a sauce with them… =)
Hi Marie, your salad sounds delicious!
Yum! I love multigrain salads and this one looks particularly delicious.
Have a wonderful time in Russia!
Thank you Josefine :)
This sounds beautiful and delicious! I am thiking of making it with raw wheat germs, as I love them so much!Thanks, Anya and enjoy your family in Russia as much as possible!
Hi Natalia, that sounds very tasty.
What a beautiful post. Outstanding colors and lighting- I always love your styling and photography!
This is such a beautiful salad. I wouldn’t have thought to pair asparagus with strawberries, but I can see how wonderful that combination would be!
Your salad looks delicious! We have several of these ingredients already growing in our garden plus we love the other items. I’m curious though about something. The bunch of greens that appear at the bottom of your second photo… What are those? The only “greens” I see in the recipe are mint or basil.
I love adding wild edibles into our salads or other meals, but maybe this is just a regular green that I’m missing?
Thanks!
Hi Gina,
Those are pea sprouts. You can most definitely add some fresh greens from your garden to the salad, they would only make it better :)
Wow ,that looks so fresh and so appetizing, love the colors too,I will try it over the weekend.
thank you for sharing