The Spring-Inspired Salad We Want Now

A spring mix of curly rainbow carrot ribbons, tender fava beans and crisp little gems has us dreaming of warmer days and lots of sunshine. This easy recipe features a creative spin on classic green goddess dressing. We’ve added fresh cilantro along with chives and parsley and swapped out the traditional lemon juice for lime zest and juice. It all comes together easily in a blender. To make the carrot ribbons, shave thin strips down the length of a carrot with a good vegetable peeler (serrated peelers work especially well), then give the ribbons a quick soak in ice water, which will help them to curl nicely.

Little Gem Salad with Green Goddess Dressing

Ingredients:

For the dressing: 

• 1 cup (8 fl. oz./250 ml) mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup (4 oz./125 g) sour cream
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 3 anchovy fillets, minced
• 1 cup (1 1/3 oz./40 g) minced fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup (1/3 oz./10 g) minced fresh chives
• 1/4 cup (1/3 oz./10 g) minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tsp. lime zest
• 1/4 cup (2 fl. oz./60 ml) fresh lime juice
• 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

For the salad: 

• 4 to 6 rainbow carrots, peeled and thinly shaved with a vegetable peeler
• 4 to 6 heads Little Gem lettuce (or more if very small), halved lengthwise
• 4 to 6 radishes (red, green or a combination), trimmed and thinly shaved on a mandoline
• 1 cup (7 oz./220 g) fava beans, blanched
• 3 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and thinly sliced
• Fresh cilantro sprigs for garnish
• Freshly ground pepper

Directions:

To make the dressing, in a blender, combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, garlic, anchovies, cilantro, chives, parsley, lime zest and juice, olive oil, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Blend on high speed until well combined. Set aside.

To make the salad, put the carrots in a bowl of ice water and let stand until they start to curl, 10 to 15 minutes; drain and pat dry. Arrange the lettuce on a serving platter or divide among salad plates. Top with the carrots, radishes, fava beans and eggs. Drizzle with the dressing and garnish with the cilantro sprigs and a few grindings of black pepper. Serve immediately. Serves 4.