We caught up with Melissa Perello, chef and founder of restaurants Frances and Octavia, both in San Francisco, to make a bright, vegetable forward salad that's perfect for Spring. 

Ingredients:

1 oz green garlic, sliced very thin

1/2 oz wild leek or garlic chives, washed and chopped

1 oz flat leaf parsley, washed and chopped

1/2 oz celery leaf, washed and chopped

2 filet anchovy preserved in oil

1/2 oz toasted hazelnut, rough chopped

1 bunch asparagus

1 bunch scallion, or small spring onions, roots trimmed

1 bunch radish, topped and washed and split in half

1/4 bu spigariello broccoli or broccolini, washed and trimmed

1 lemon, zest and juice

west~bourne Extra Virgin Avocado Oil

west~bourne Pure Avocado Oil

Pecorino Toscano or Feta

For the salsa:

Soak and rinse the sliced green garlic to remove any grit or sand. In a small pot, combine the garlic with enough Pure Avocado Oil to cover and sweat over low heat until the garlic softens and becomes tender. Remove from heat and cool to room temp.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the green garlic, wild leeks, parsley, celery leaf and about 1 cup of the Extra Virgin Avocado Oil. Pulse to chop and blend, but careful not puree too fine. Add the lemon zest, anchovy, hazelnut, capers and continue to pulse and blend. Add additional Extra Virgin Avocado Oil if necessary to loosen and finish with salt to taste. 

For the vegetables:

Heat the oven to 450.

Lay the onions, radishes cut side down, and the broccolini out on a sheet tray. Make sure not to crowd the pan, use two pans if necessary to allow ample space between the vegetables.

Drizzle generously with the Pure Avocado Oil and season with salt.

Place the sheet tray on the very bottom of your oven ( ideally not on the rack) and roast for 5 minutes before rotating the pan. Roast until tender and a bit of nice char is achieved on the vegetables.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature and then trim to smaller, more “bite sized” pieces.

For the asparagus:

Wash the asparagus and snap or trim the bases. Blend the trimmed bases with water in a blender or juicer and strain through a fine sieve. Use a wide based pan to cook the top spears of asparagus in this asparagus juice and season with salt. Simmer until tender, remove the asparagus from the liquid and cool.

Assemble the Salad:

In a large mixing bowl, combine the asparagus, the roasted vegetables, lemon juice and a generous spoonful of the salsa. Mix to combine and season with additional salt if necessary. Garnish with additional salsa and shaved cheese to serve.

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