Herbed Yogurt Salad

Well, Spring is just slowly starting to show signs of itself in NYC. I say that as a huge winter storm is about to hit tomorrow… I figured it could be fun to share one of my favorite springtime salads and because it’s green, it seems fitting to share during the week of St. Patrick’s Day!

I love this salad because it’s so easy to assemble and can be made pretty far in advance. For the most part, you can get all of the ingredients in the grocery store at anytime of the year, but this is best to make when it’s asparagus season and you can pick some up from a local farmers market. The cool thing about this recipe is that the herbed yogurt is also great to use as a sauce on a sandwich so if you have any left over it will stretch into other dishes. You could use it on burgers or as an open faced tartine or even serve it as a dip with some fresh crudités . If you tend to eat seasonally you can mix up the in-season veggies to make this all year long. I would think that something savory in the Fall like sweet potatoes could even be good with this. The possibilities are endless…!

With that said, enjoy this dish and happy St. Patrick’s Day week!

• 10 stalks of asparagus

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided 

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided 

• 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper, divided 

• 1/4 of a large cucumber, seeds removed 

• 1 1/4 cup Greek yogurt 

• 1 tablespoon minced fresh basil leaves 

• 1 tablespoon fresh mince tarragon leaves 

• 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill leaves 

• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 

• 1/3 cup frozen peas, defrosted 

• 2 ounces feta, cut into cubes 

• 10 mint leaves 

Break the hard stems off of the asparagus and peel the skin off of the asparagus stem and cut in half. Place the cut asparagus in a mixing bowl and mix with 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Toss to combine then grill on a hot grill pan over medium-high heat for 3 minutes per side. Remove the cooked asparagus and allow to cool. 

Grate the cucumber on a box grater then transfer to a clean kitchen towel and squeeze to remove all of the excess water out of the cucumber. Transfer the grated cucumber to a mixing bowl. Add the yogurt, basil, tarragon, dill, red pepper flakes, and remaining 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Stir to combine. 

To assemble, spread a layer of the cucumber and yogurt mixture on a platter, top with the defrosted peas, cubed feta, mint leaves, and cooked asparagus.

Original recipe posting here: Herbed Yogurt Salad