This asparagus and peas green salad is a delicious, delicate salad that’s perfect for this season. Made with asparagus, peas, mint and pickled red onions and drizzled with a honey vinaigrette this salad is the star of any table.

I have to be honest, I was never a fan of salads were the green was the main color. For mea good salad was one with a ton of toppings and fix-ins. The more croutons and dressing the better, you know what I mean? At least, that’s how it was until I discovered this asparagus and peas salad.

Because, my friend, this salad is good.

SO SO GOOD

And fresh

And flavorful

And delicate

What I’m trying to say is that this salad is so good you won’t miss all the toppings, quite the opposite actually. It also helps that this is so vibrant and beautiful it makes any table look party ready.

The secret to all the flavor and deliciousness in this salad comes from 3 things:

First blanching the veggies. Blanching is a fancy cooking term that basically means quickly boiling the veggies for a couple of minutes and then transferring them to an ice bath. That¡s what preserves the intense green color while also giving the asparagus and peas some saltiness and flavor.
Second is the pickled red onions. Just toss red onion bits with vinegar and sugar and let them set for a couple of minutes. This quick pickling time gets rid of the bit raw onions usually have while also giving them more flavor.
Finally, the honey vinaigrette. Just mix honey, lemon juice, vinegar olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder together. Shake vigorously and coat your veggies evenly with it. This vinaigrette is super flavorful and tossing the veggies with it will pack them with even more flavor (see the theme here? Every single ingredient packs as much flavor as possible).

Ingredients you need:

Asparagus
Peas
Garlic
Red onion
Balsamic vinegar
Granulated sugar
Honey
Olive oil
Lemon
Garlic powder
Salt
Pepper
Mint leaves

This asparagus and peas green salad is a delicious, delicate salad that’s perfect for this season. Made with asparagus, peas, mint and pickled red onions and drizzled with a honey vinaigrette this salad is the star of any table. #salad #springflavor #asparagus #peas

Making your Spring fresh salad

In a small bowl mix the balsamic vinegar with sugar. Add salt and pepper and mix in the onion. Set aside.
Add garlic to boiling salted water. Blanch veggies and remove to ice bath. Drain and let dry.
Mix honey, oil, lemon juice, and seasonings. Drizzle over veggies.
Plate dressed veggies, then top with red onion and mint leaves.

What to serve with this salad

Other Spring Salads to try

Asparagus Pea Salad

Ingredients

1 Pound asparagus, ends trimmed
3 Cups peas
1 Garlic clove, crushed
1 Red onion, thinly sliced and chopped
6 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon sugar
¼ Cup honey
¼ Cup olive oil
Juice from one lemon
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
½ Cup mint leaves

Instructions

Pickle the red onion: In a small bowl mix the balsamic vinegar with sugar. Add salt and pepper and mix in the onion. Set aside.
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the crushed garlic and let it cook for 3 minutes so the water gets infused with the garlic flavor. Add asparagus and peas and cook for 4 minutes or until bright green. Remove from heat, drain water and quickly transfer to an ice water bath. Drain and pat dry.
Whisk together the honey with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic powder and salt and pepper to make the dressing. Drizzle it over the asparagus and peas and toss to evenly coat.
Discard the vinegar used to pickle the onions, decorate the salad with the pickled onion bits and mint leaves.