Spring produce honestly makes me giddy. I get school girl crush excited to stroll the aisles at the farmers market and my favorite organic grocery store and it feels like Christmas morning every Wednesday when I open the CSA box that our farmer drops off and I get to look inside. I am not sure how you feel about it, but I seriously think all of this fresh green goodness is definitely worth celebrating.

One of my absolute favorite in season vegetables is asparagus. I am not joking when I tell you I consumed about 3 lbs of it myself in a 24 hour period, one day last week. I love it. My two favorite ways to enjoy it is roasted in the oven and grilled. The smokey flavor and those char marks from the beautiful caramelization of the natural sugars are just perfection.

Oh and I personally find just picking those spears up with my hands and enjoying them, sans silverware, only enhances all of this! Try it, you’ll see.

This simple spring salad is great as a side dish for almost any delicious spring-inspired meal and it is wonderful when entertaining. It would also be great at brunch. Feel free to select your favorite greens for the salad, I had some beautiful local wild arugula that was perfect, as well as some fresh organic pea shoots, which I have also been obsessed with, lately. Any spring greens will do and you can also add your favorite herbs, sprouts and so on.

The delicate and bright sunshiny flavor from the Meyer lemon shallot vinaigrette is a wonderful addition to this salad and it has a sublet kick from the shallots. If you don’t have access to Meyer lemons, go with a little regular fresh lemon juice and a little fresh orange juice. You may not need all of the dressing for the salad, so just set the rest aside for another delicious Spring salad.

What is your favorite Spring vegetable?

This recipe Grilled Asparagus Spring Salad was originally shared on the Free People Blog BLDG 25.

[print_this]Grilled Asparagus Spring Salad with Meyer Lemon Shallot Vinaigrette
serves 4

• 1 pound asparagus
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 cups arugula
• 1 cup pea shoots
• Fresh chives, thinly sliced

Meyer Lemon Shallot Vinaigrette

• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice
• zest from 1 Meyer lemon
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 small shallot, very finely minced
• 2 teaspoons honey or maple syrup
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat your grill on high. Prepare the asparagus by cutting or breaking off the tough ends of each spear of asparagus. Keep the ends for stock or simply discard.

On a plate or in a pan, toss the asparagus with olive oil and sprinkle some sea salt and pepper over top.

In a grill basket or directly on the grill, grill the asparagus for 5 to 10 minutes until nicely browned and barely tender, turning them every few minutes so they brown evenly.

While the asparagus is cooking, prepare the vinaigrette. In a small bowl whisk together the Meyer lemon juice and zest with the olive oil, shallot, honey and salt and pepper.

On a serving plate, layer the arugula and pea shoots – top with the grilled asparagus and drizzle the Meyer lemon dressing over top all of it. Serve topped with fresh chives.

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