Springtime has well and truly hit us here in London (after some weird snow outbursts in the end of April – very odd) and we just couldn’t be more excited. The word ‘spring’ itself is so onomatopoeic – it makes you feel energised and happy just saying it – and for us it resembles new beginnings and new life. It’s probably not a coincidence then that our blog was born during this very season, and that both Mrs D and myself left our stressful and unfulfilling corporate jobs in springtimes past and present. 

These glorious months preceding summer have so much to offer in terms of nature; every other photo I see on Instagram seems to be a picturesque shot of beautiful blossom against the most tranquil of blue skies, and the fresh produce coming into season is just second to none. It’s like spring puts a spring in nature’s step as well as our own – everything is so full of flavour, so green and so nourishing.

This spring salad is such a fabulous dish to herald in the new season – it’s full of seasonal greens, packed with protein, good fats and vitamins, super colourful and bursting with flavour. There’s grounding quinoa, tender asparagus, sweet, juicy strawberries, crunchy pecans, creamy avocado and a zingy dressing, all on a bed of the super duper food that is fresh spinach. It’s honestly just the best salad ever – not only does it taste amazing but you can just tell that it’s doing so much good for your lovely body!

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
• asparagus, washed and with the ends cut off
• 2 cups fresh baby leaf spinach
• 1/2 cup strawberries, washed and halved
• 1 medium ripe avocado
• A handful of pecans
• 1/2 a lemon
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp olive oil

First preheat the oven to 200C, then cook the quinoa by adding it to a saucepan of water, bringing it to the boil and then cooking on a medium heat for about 12 minutes.

Pop the asparagus on a baking tray and drizzle it with 1 tbsp of the olive oil and a little Himalayan salt to taste if you like, then bake for 15 minutes.

Halve the avocado, scoop out the flesh and chop it into small chunks, then in a large salad bowl combine the spinach, avocado, pecans and strawberries. Drain the quinoa and leave it to cool for a couple of minutes while you make the dressing.

For the dressing, simply combine 1 tbsp olive oil with the balsamic vinegar and lemon juice in a small bowl and give it a good whisk to mix it all together well. Add the dressing and the quinoa to the salad bowl and toss well so that everything is all mixed together, then serve up and pop the asparagus spears on top.

Love, Mrs H xx