Off The Counter: Petite Peas and Meyer Lemon Salad

My mother in-law prepared this salad for us a little while back and it was so good that I felt the need to recreate it and blog about it.  The combination of the crunchy iceberg lettuce, the fresh sweet peas and the juice of a Meyer lemon makes for a refreshing end to a hearty winter meal.  Yes, she served this salad after an Italian sausage ravioli and Chateaubriand roast (with a brandied mushroom sauce) dinner.  Did I mention hearty?!

Salad ingredients and instructions below:

Ingredients:

Firm avocado, iceberg lettuce, fresh peas, parsley, Meyer lemon, olive oil and sea salt

Instructions:

Cook the peas for a minute and rinse with cold water.  Chop up the iceberg lettuce and place in a bowl.  Add a diced avocado and the cooked peas and toss.  Sprinkle with fresh, finely chopped parsley.  Drizzle the salad with olive oil and the juice of one Meyer lemon.  Salt and pepper to your liking (preferably with sea salt).

I keep lemon slices (and sea salt) on the side so one can season it to his/her liking.

Enjoy!

Off The Counter: A Parisian Salad

This week's Off The Counter is inspired by a salad I enjoyed this summer while in Paris at the [most likely] coolest restaurant I've ever eaten at.  I'll tell you more about it in my next Out And About later this week.  With fresh peas, marinated red onions and grapefruits as ingredients, this salad took my palate by surprise.  The density of the peas ground the grapefruit making it more satisfying than one would imagine. Take a look at how it comes together, ingredients and instructions below:

Ingredients:

Fresh or frozen peas, red onion, grapefruit, olive oil, rice vinegar, salt,  pepper and a dash of sugar

Instructions:

Marinate chopped red onions in olive oil and salt for a least an hour.  If using frozen peas steam and blanch them.  Combine peeled and chopped grapefruit with the cooled down peas and onions.  Drizzle with olive oil and rice vinegar and add a pinch of sugar to cut the bitterness of the fruit.

Enjoy!

Keep posted for the next Out And About to find out where I first sampled this salad.