Abuela’s Spring Salad Recipe

Our Abuela’s Spring Salad Recipe is a fresh take on a Cuban salad that is perfect for spring. The perfect side to keep light and delicious.

Why We Love Abuela’s Spring Salad Recipe

The truth is, Cuban food tends to be saucy, garlicky and heavy. Cuban sides are filled with starchy food like rice, platano and malanga. While we love this about Cuban food, we also think that it is always good to find a way to get something light and fresh on the table. In our opinion, there is nothing better thaner than a crispy fried Palomilla with White Rice, Tostones and a crisp cold refreshing salad? After all, it is all about balance.

When we were growing up, salads were sparse. If there was a salad, it basically consisted of lettuce, chunky tomato, and sliced white onions with a splash of white vinegar. On a very lucky day, a piece of avocado found its way in.

This inspires us to think of ways we can make salads interesting and different. The best thing to do to really liven up a salad, is make sure to use lots of colors, textures and flavors.

What is in Abuela’s Spring Salad Recipe

This recipe is not Abuela’s basic salad! The crunch and colors make this spring salad special. It is fit for Easter feast or any springtime dinner. This salad uses a lot of vegetables you find in spring.

The recipe calls for the combination of Easter egg radishes and watermelon radishes. Radishes are a great way to add a little fresh crunch to your salad. For a little extra crunch we added the pistachios. We love the flavor and bite that a nut brings to a salad. If you don’t have pistachios, you can go with walnuts, almonds or even pine nuts.

Always keep in mind, that you need to cook with flavors and ingredients that you love, but also most importantly have on hand. If you’re having a hard time finding any of these, use what you like or find a substitution that you have in your pantry. Our only advice is to keep it colorful.

If you have a mandolin, slice everything using the thinnest setting. If you don’t feel comfortable using a mandolin, use a food processor with a slicer attachment or shred the veggies on a box grater. The point is to slice all the veggies similarly so it all looks beautiful and each bite is balanced.

The dressing is a Citrus Honey that compliments the vegetables and brings a little bit of a pow.

What to Pair with Our Spring Salad

Abuela’s Spring Salad

Recipe by Abuelas Cuban CounterCourse: Salads, SidesCuisine: Mediterranean, AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking timeminutes

Ingredients

• 3 rainbow carrots, rinsed, peeled and thinly sliced
  

• 1 watermelon radish, rinsed and thinly sliced
  

• 4 easter radishes, rinsed and thinly sliced
  

• 1 cucumber, rinsed and thinly sliced
  

• 1 bag of butter lettuce
  

• 1 cup of cotija cheese, crumbled
  

• 1 cup of cherry tomatoes, sliced
  

• 1/2 cup of pistachios, coarsely chopped
  

• juice of 1 lemon
  

• zest and juice of 1 orange
  

• 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
  

• 2 tablespoons of honey
  

• 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard

• salt and pepper

Directions

• Assemble the salad using the butter lettuce as the base and rotating everything so you can see the colors.
  
• In a small bowl whisk together the dijon, juice, zest, salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in the oil so the mixture is completely incorporated.
  
• Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Keep in the fridge until serving. Drizzle over the greens when you are ready to eat.