spring greens with tarragon & radish

i was very excited last week when my neighborhood farmers market reopened for the season. i took a sunny walk over to the market where i picked up an abundance of beautiful spring vegetables: asparagus, spicy radishes, fresh herbs, spring lettuces, pea vines, micro greens, chives, spring onions, green garlic. oh yessss. 

so this week, when i was planning the menu for a private dinner party catering, i had to make a run to the market for a haul of fresh spring vegetables to serve! i was especially excited to find flowering pea vines and blossoming chives to add to this beautiful salad. i had to buy some for myself to sprinkle over my eggs and onto my avocado toast each day - they taste just like chives and are incredibly beautiful! 

the dinner party was a blast to cook for. i spent the afternoon in the most beautiful condo kitchen in all of seattle. chopping away at radishes while hovering 29 floors directly about the pike place market, with a view of all of seattle from the kitchen. the life of a personal chef has it's cushy & sweet moments... 

spring greens with tarragon & radish ~ serves 4
1 large bunch mache or butter lettuce or mix
1 bunch (~8) radishes, any color
zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup tarragon white wine vinegar (store bought or homemade)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons honey
1/4 cup chives, chopped at diagonal
2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, finely chopped
sea salt & fresh pepper to taste
optional: pea vine flowers & chive blossom petals

in a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, tarragon vinegar and honey. set aside. 

using a zester, rather than a microplane, zest 1 lemon. this will give you beautiful strands of bright yellow zest. if you only have a microplane, add the grated zest to the dressing. otherwise, save the strands for topping the salad. 

gently tear lettuces into large bites and place into a large salad bowl. wash and thinly slice radishes and add to the salad bowl along with chopped herbs. toss to distribute the herbs and then add just half the dressing. toss with hands until evenly coated. add more dressing if you desire, adjusting seasoning with salt & pepper. top with chive blossom petals and pea vines flowers and a few additional chopped chives and the zest of one lemon.