Nigel Slater’s kitchen diary: a green salad to celebrate the joys of spring

Photographs by Jonathan Lovekin

I took my time over making a weekend lunch, a mixture of spring vegetables to accompany a roast chicken and its golden, lemon-scented juices. I assembled a salad that had myriad textures, temperatures and flavours and incorporated the best of the spring vegetables and a scattering of pasta to soak up the chicken juices from our plates.

We are spoilt for choice right now with vegetables. I settled on three: asparagus, broad beans and young courgettes, adding a few peas to bring a little sweetness. I kept the dressing simple, so as not to smother the spring flavours. The recipe was just as good the next day with the leftovers appearing for a packed lunch of cold chicken.

Lunches are different at weekends, relaxed and easy-going, with little worry about timing. A chicken (or a couple for a crowd) will rest happily, being just as good to eat warm as they are straight from the oven, and the right salad – substantial, not light and leafy – will sit in good condition for an hour or two. You just have to pick the right ingredients.

Salted ricotta has come to the rescue twice in the last few days, once as a piquant addition to this broad bean salad, and then in a stripped-back salad of white-tipped radishes and watercress, a plate as cool as it looked. The hard, pressed, salted ricotta is not cheap, but a little goes a long way and, wrapped in the fridge, will keep for a few weeks. Grate it on the course side of a grater or shave it with a knife. It is good to come across tiny nuggets of salty, sharp cheese among the greens. It is not always easy to find. I have been known to use feta in its place.

The strawberries are here. We ate them with waves of white yoghurt folded into whipped cream (the latter lightened by the sharper, brighter-tasting yoghurt) and then, later, as a scarlet purée spooned over some slightly lacklustre raspberries. The vivid red sauce brought the berries to life. And its presence reminded me that the summer-fruit season is almost here. I feel a berry tart coming on.

I finally planted the tomatoes this week. Short, stocky plug plants of Sakura, Orange Wellington and Honey Delight. Varieties new to me and mostly orange rather than red. May feels rather late to be getting them into pots, but they are tiny plants in fine fettle and I look forward to seeing their progress. They will live on the kitchen roof, where they can bask in the sunshine, protected from the wind, and hopefully appear on the table at some point, the fruits tossed with the basil or fennel fronds that await metres below on the warm stone flags of the terrace.

Orecchiette, spring vegetables and salted ricotta

Serves 6. Ready in 1.5 hours.

A substantial salad of warm pasta, whose little cups fill with the chopped herbs and sherry vinegar dressing. I have kept the dressing deliberately light here, with just enough punch to leave the flavours of the young vegetables crisp and clear. This is not a salad to embark on for a quick supper, but one worth taking your time over. Use fresh peas if you have them, but no one will notice should you use frozen. I like to skin the broad beans, but at this point in the season they are often too small and sweet to need it.

You will need to be a little organised here, so get the spring vegetables – asparagus, peas and beans – cooked and their dressing made, before you fry the courgettes and boil the pasta. If you can’t find salted ricotta with its piquant, salty character, use feta cheese, broken into small pieces.

asparagus 500g
broad beans 400g, shelled weight
peas 200g, podded weight
spring onions 4
courgettes 2, medium
garlic 2 cloves
olive oil 2 tbsp
orecchiette 250g
radishes 8
parsley leaves 15g
mint sprigs 15g
coriander 10g, leaves and stems
salted ricotta 60g

For the dressing:
lemon juice 2 tsp
lemon zest 2 tsp, finely grated
sherry vinegar 1 tbsp
olive oil 3 tbsp

Put a pan of water on to boil and salt lightly. Trim the asparagus, cutting the stalks into short lengths, about 4cm. When it comes to the boil, add the asparagus and cook until just tender, about 7 minutes. (The exact time will depend on the thickness of the stalks.)

While the asparagus cooks, make the dressing: put the lemon juice and zest in a small bowl. Season with the sea salt and several grinds of black pepper, then pour in the sherry vinegar. Using a small whisk, mix in the olive oil. Set aside.

Lift out the asparagus with a spider or draining spoon and drop it into iced water. Tip the beans and peas into the boiling water and cook for 4-6 minutes or until just tender. Drain in a colander and refresh them under running water.

If you wish, skin the beans. Pick each one up and pop the bright green bean from its papery skin with your finger and thumb. (The skins are good on the compost.) Fill the empty pan with clean water, bring to the boil and salt generously. You need this for the pasta.

Trim and finely chop the spring onions. Slice the courgettes in half lengthways, then again into quarters, then cut into small dice. Peel and finely slice the garlic.

Warm the oil in a shallow pan, add the spring onion, courgettes and garlic and cook for 8-10 minutes until the courgette is soft and translucent and the spring onions dark green. Add the orecchiette to the boiling water.

Meanwhile, thinly slice the radishes Drain the asparagus, peas and beans from their iced water and shake them dry. Put them in a large mixing bowl. Add the courgettes and spring onions.

Finely chop the parsley, mint and coriander and add to the mixing bowl.

Drain the pasta, then add to the vegetables. Pour in the dressing and toss gently to coat everything. Transfer to a large platter. Last, crumble over the salted ricotta, in tiny pieces.

Alternatives for your spring salad

• You could simplify the recipe by using just broad beans and asparagus, omitting the peas. The cooked courgettes and spring onions are an essential element, but you could add them raw instead.

• Try substituting dark green lentils for the pasta.

• If you make and dress the salad an hour or two before eating, it will come to no harm, and its flavours will mellow. Sprinkle on a little more sherry vinegar as you bring it to the table.