Market Recipe: Late Spring Salad with Pesto Aioli Dressing

Late Spring Salad with Pesto Aioli DressingSoft Shell Crab:

1 bunch carrots
1 small bunch beets
1 pound young green beans
2 T grapeseed oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 bunch basil
2 T pesto (we used Kala’s Kuisine prepared spinach walnut pesto)
1/4 cup aioli (we used Stellar Gourmet prepared aioli)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Prepare vegetables by scrubbing well. Peel carrots, slice and reserve. Chop 2 T of carrot greens and add to a large salad bowl. Coarsely grate beet root into salad bowl. Chop beets greens finely and reserve. Trim ends of green beans, slice into 1″ lengths, reserve.

Heat grapeseed oil to shimmering, add carrots, beet greens, green beans. Sauté until carrots are crisp-tender. Add lemon juice to pan, stirring vegetables well and incorporating any browned bits released from pan, for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Prepare dressing by combining pesto and aioli, adding a bit more oil if necessary to thin. Adjust seasonings with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Transfer sauté to salad bowl, toss with remaining vegetables, stir in dressing, and serve.

Photo Credit: Maggie C. Perkins, of Notes from Maggie’s Farm.