About once a week we like to make a huge green salad loaded with vegetables and grains. While we try to eat relatively healthy throughout the week, it’s not always feasible, as we are always on the go, so this once-a-week salad habit serves as our little detox. This green goddess salad is loaded with cooked and chilled farro, lima beans, asparagus, edamame, peas, cucumbers, radishes, spring mix lettuce, and herbs. It’s ridiculously delicious and even better with the homemade avocado ranch dressing mixed in. The great part about green goddess salads, or any salads for that matter, is that you can put in whatever you’d like. I hate to use the term “garbage salad,” but it’s almost what it is.
One of my favorite things to do every day is to visit the local market and see what’s in season, what’s on sale, and how I can use it in one of my recipes for that day. It’s spring, so things like spring mix lettuces, peas, and edamame are in peak season and relatively cheap items to buy. If I were to adapt this recipe for fall, I would sub in some Brussels sprouts, or add in kale, or maybe even some celery or broccoli. The point I’m getting at is that you can make this salad whatever you want, just as long as it’s green and in season.
Just like the farro, the ranch dressing is incredibly easy to make. I made a simple spice blend consisting of onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and dill and used it as the base seasonings for the dressing. I then combined this mixture with some mayonnaise, buttermilk, and of course an avocado. I’m not even kidding when I say that you’ll never buy store made ranch again after tasting it and realizing just how easy it is to make.
Once you’ve got your salad combined then simply toss everything in the dressing and serve. Happy cooking everyone!
Spring Farro and Greens Salad with Homemade Avocado Ranch Dressing
Serves 4 For the Salad:- 1 bunch Asparagus tips, blanched and cooled
- 1 cup Edamame, blanched and cooled
- 1 cup Peas, blanched and cooled
- 1 cup Lima Beans, blanched and cooled
- 2 cups Farro, cooked
- 5 Radishes, thinly sliced
- ½ Cucumber, thinly sliced
- 8 cups Spring Mix Lettuce, packed
- ½ cup Green Onions, sliced
- Fresh Chervil leaves for garnish
- Kosher Salt and fresh cracked Pepper to taste
- ¾ tsp Garlic Powder
- ¾ tsp Onion Powder
- ¾ tsp Dill Weed
- ¾ tsp Kosher Salt
- 1 cup Mayonnaise
- ½ cup Buttermilk
- 1 Avocado, peeled and seeded
Hello, I’m Billy Parisi, but to some I’m known as “Chef Billy Parisi.” I do a little bit of this and a little bit of that, but for the most part I’m a Food & Content Creator, Sometimes TV Host, Digital and Social Strategist, Influencer, Picture Taker, Coffee Drinker, Daddy, Husband, College Sports Enthusiast, Fashionisto, Film & Music Lover!
I’ve been in the kitchen since I started washing dishes in a restaurant at the age of 13, and during that time I knew immediately that I wanted to be a chef. I graduated from Arizona’s Scottsdale Culinary Institute and the University of Missouri, and have logged several years as line cook, sous chef, and executive in some of the Midwest’s finest restaurants. I currently live in the city of Chicago with my wife Lindsay and daughter Olivia and cook up new inventions, mash-ups, fusions, and twists on old classics. I’m incredibly spontaneous and outgoing, and run two small businesses, BPMVC and my latest venture, 5 Loaves 2 Fish!
