Green Goddess Salad

March in Savannah is a negotiation between winter and spring, and spring is winning. The temperature hit seventy-three on Thursday and the whole city exhaled. People were on porches, in yards, walking dogs, doing all the things Southerners do when the air stops trying to kill them. I opened every window in the house and the marsh breeze came through and it smelled like mud and salt and possibility, and Earl said, "Smells like spring," and I said, "Smells like planting season," and we were both right.

I planted the seedlings this weekend. Into the ground they go — the tomatoes, the peppers, the little herb starts that have been growing under the kitchen light. I dug the holes and mixed in compost and settled each plant into the soil with the care of someone who knows that growing things is an act of faith. You put a seedling in dirt and you water it and you trust. That's gardening. That's everything.

Earl sat in his chair and watched. He pointed. He instructed. He said the tomatoes were too close together, same as every year, and I ignored him, same as every year. This is our dance. This is our spring. I would not change a step of it.

Big news from Atlanta: Marcus told Earl Jr. and Carolyn that he's going to propose to Tasha. He told them, not me, because he knows that I have what Denise calls "a face that doesn't keep secrets" and he wants it to be a surprise. But Earl Jr. told Denise and Denise told me, because that is how this family works — information flows like water and arrives at my kitchen table within forty-eight hours of being spoken anywhere in the state of Georgia. I am pretending not to know. I am pretending very hard. It's the hardest acting I've done since I told Earl his turkey burgers taste "almost as good as beef," which was a lie so generous it should have won an award.

I made shrimp and corn chowder this week. The shrimp are coming back into season — the local ones, from the rivers and the coast, the ones that taste like salt water and sunshine. I sautéed them with butter and garlic, added corn (frozen, because fresh won't be back until June, and I'll not apologize for frozen corn in March), potatoes, cream, and fresh thyme from the garden that survived the winter. Rich, thick, the kind of chowder that makes you close your eyes. Spring is coming, baby. I can taste it.

Now go on and feed somebody.

That chowder carried us through the last cool nights, but once those seedlings went into the ground and the thyme came back strong from the garden bed, I started thinking about what comes next — lighter, brighter, the food that belongs to a season that’s no longer just promising but actually arriving. This Green Goddess Salad is exactly that bridge dish: it uses the fresh herbs that survived the winter right alongside the ones just now coming back, and it tastes like the kind of spring Thursday that makes the whole city exhale. Make the chowder when there’s still a chill; make this when the windows are open.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 15 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 large head romaine lettuce, chopped
1 cup baby arugula
1 cucumber, thinly sliced
1 cup snap peas, halved
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
1/4 cup fresh chives, chopped
1/2 avocado, pitted and sliced
1/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds), toasted
For the dressing:
1/2 avocado, pitted and scooped
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup fresh basil
2 tablespoons fresh chives
1 small clove garlic
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons water, plus more to thin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Make the dressing. Combine the avocado, parsley, basil, chives, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, water, salt, and pepper in a blender or food processor. Blend until completely smooth. Add additional water one tablespoon at a time until the dressing is pourable but still thick and creamy. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Prep the salad base. Add the chopped romaine and baby arugula to a large salad bowl. Toss gently to combine the greens.
Add the vegetables. Arrange the cucumber slices, snap peas, green onions, and sliced avocado over the greens. Scatter the fresh parsley and basil leaves across the top.
Dress and finish. Drizzle the green goddess dressing generously over the salad. Toss to coat everything evenly, or serve the dressing on the side if you prefer. Scatter the toasted pepitas over the top just before serving.
Serve immediately. This salad is best eaten right after dressing while the greens are crisp and the herbs are bright. Leftover dressing keeps in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Nutrition (per serving)

Green Goddess Salad — Spring Is Here and the Garden Agrees