Chef notes
Every salad, no matter how simple or straightforward, deserves a special dressing. This salad is quick enough to be an everyday lunch or side dish. It features a balance of essential flavors and textures — something fresh, something briny, something fatty and something crunchy.
Cubes of ripe avocado add a little something creamy while crumbles of feta cheese add a briney, salty bite to each forkful. Crunchy sunflower seeds are scattered throughout, and one or more of your favorite herbs adds a fresh finish (use whatever you have on hand, but we live for the combination of tender herbs like basil, cilantro and mint). Canned chickpeas add a bit of protein to the salad. If chickpeas aren’t your thing, use whatever beans you like — cannellini or lima beans have a similar creamy texture. You could also add leftover proteins like rotisserie chicken, cooked shrimp or flaked salmon.
As if the salad itself didn’t sound delicious enough, there’s a zippy ramp vinaigrette too. Ramps have a very short season during the spring. If you blink you’ll miss it. But don’t worry — scallions have a similar, slightly less garlicky note, but they will still add a lot of flavor to this dressing. If you are lucky enough to get your hands on a bunch of ramps, you can use the leftover green tops to blitz up a pesto sauce. Or you could give them a quick sauté with other greens like kale, spinach or Swiss chard. A splash of apple cider vinegar, a spoonful of grainy mustard and olive oil bring the vinaigrette together, then all the salad needs is a drizzle before it’s ready to enjoy.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons old-style whole-grain or Dijon mustard
- 2-3 ramp bulbs, minced
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 head romaine lettuce, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta
- 1 Hass avocado, cubed
- 1/2 (13.5-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 packed cup fresh mint, basil or cilantro leaves and tender stems, roughly chopped
Preparation
For the vinaigrette:
In a small mixing bowl, mix the vinegar, mustard and minced ramp, then whisk in the olive oil until smooth and emulsified. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
For the salad:
Heat a small, dry skillet over medium-high heat until hot, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the sunflower seeds and season with salt, stirring occasionally, and cook until you hear them pop and start to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and set the pan aside until the salad is ready.
Place the sunflower seeds, lettuce, feta, avocado, chickpeas and mint in a salad bowl. Add the vinaigrette and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
