Sugar snap pea, feta, fried onion salad, dijon vinaigrette

This salad should go into a cookbook full of salads titled “Crunchy, salty and something fried.” It’s basically a formula I follow for any salad. I need the elements of crunch, salt and most definitely something fried to balance all the fresh produce.

The dressing for this salad is a dijon viniagrette, which is fresh and light, tying in all the components together. I love crushing olives using the flat side of a knife. Doing this to sicilian olives ensures that you get dressing clinging onto the rough corners of the olives and adds a rustic look to the salad.

If you like this salad you would love my fried onion tuna salad. It’s one of my most popular recipes on the blog!

Ingredients:

300g sugar snap peas, fresh

2 cups spinach, fresh, loosely packed and roughly chopped

200g green sicilian olives, pitted, roughly chopped or crushed

1/2 cup feta cheese, marinated in oil is best but optional

Fried Onions:

1 brown onion, halved then thinly sliced

2 tbsp corn starch

4 tbsp frying oil, any neutral oil

Dijon Viniagrette:

1/2 a red onion, diced

1 tbsp dijon mustard

2 tsp white balsamic vinegar

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

big pinch of salt and pepper

Method:

Blanch the snap peas: bring a large pot with 1 liter of water to a rapid boil. Once boiling, add 4 tbsp cooking salt. Have a large bowl containing lots of ice and some water ready to go off to the side. Add the snap peas to the boiling water and remove them using a slotted spoon after 1 minute, transferring directly into the ice water. Allow them to cool completely in the ice water, then drain and pat dry with a kitchen towel.

Make the viniagrette: add dijon, white balsamic, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper to a large mixing bowl and whisk until creamy. Add red onion and mix to combine so they’re all in a dijon vinaigrette bath. Allow them to sit in the dressing while you prepare the rest, so they can soften.

Fry the onions: toss thinly sliced brown onions with corn starch until they’re all equally coated. Bring a large non-stick fry pan to a medium-high heat and add 4 tbsp frying oil, or enough to gently coat the base of the pan. Once hot, add onions, scattering them evenly across the pan, and fry on all sides until golden brown, approximately 10 minutes. Break them apart every now and then using your spatula so they don’t stick together. Once golden, transfer to a paper towel lined plate to cool.

Build the salad: Add snap peas and olives to the dijon viniagrette and toss to coat evenly. Add spinach, toss to combine. Garnish the top with crumbled feta and fried onions.