I love spring. It’s one of my favourite seasons. Autumn being the other. But what I love about spring is that to me it represents simplicity, colour and the beginning of new life as the deciduous trees start to return to colour and the gardens begin to bloom their beautiful, bright flowers. In my garden right now the snow peas are sprouting and the butterflies are fluttering about. It’s a thing of beauty.
So as an ode to this glorious season (and out of sheer necessity as I had only a handful of ingredients at my disposal), I made this salad. It’s a simple dish which can be recreated in under 5 minutes. And the best part is most of the ingredients are staples many of us have in the fridge (or garden) on any given day.
I used fennel in this dish as I had some in the fridge however generally it’s starting to go out of season in Australia around this time. Simply replace it with celery if you don’t have any handy or can’t find any at the shops.
High in vitamins and minerals and big on flavour, this salad will fast become your new go-to ‘fast food’ lunch.
Layered Spring Salad
1 cucumber, sliced
1x ripe tomato, sliced
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup fennel, thinly sliced
Sicilian olives (or your olive of choice)
Feta (as much or as little as you please)
Thyme leaves, to scatter on top
1/4 lemon, for juice
Olive oil, for drizzling (you don’t need a lot)
Salt and Pepper, to season
Method
Simply layer slices of cucumber, tomato, onion and fennel in a small serving bowl. Top with olives and dollop feta around. Scatter thyme leaves over the top and finish off by squeezing the lemon juice over and then a little drizzle of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Enjoy!
This is really a delightful meal. You could add left over chicken or tuna (or other protein of your choice) if you wanted to but I enjoy this light salad as it is.
Serve it with your favourite herbal tea and enjoy it in the fresh spring air!
down healthy lane 