[1] Smoked salmon with spring greens salad (photo © Good Eggs).

[2] A spring salad mix, washed and ready to eat (photo © Earthbound Farm).

[3] A beautiful side of smoked salmon (photo © Caviar House – Prunier).

[4] Meyer lemons (photo © Good Eggs).

[5] Tricolor baby potatoes (photo © Recipes Worth Repeating).

It’s the first day of spring, so here’s a spring salad dish: smoked salmon with spring greens and a sprightly Meyer lemon vinaigrette (Meyer lemons are an early spring fruit).

The vernal equinox (spring equinox) occurs roughly around March 20th each year. In the Northern Hemisphere, the sun crosses the equator, moving north.

It marks the beginning of spring: longer days and shorter nights.

You can celebrate with a spring cocktail, and lighter spring dishes like the salad recipe below.

The smoked salmon salad recipe follows below.
 
 
WHAT ARE SPRING GREENS?

While global transport and greenhouses put these greens in our markets year-round, these are the seasonal greens that people looked forward to each spring.

You can buy a bag of Spring Mix in the salad department; a combination of baby lettuces and often arugula, baby spinach and baby chard.

If you want to put together your own spring mix, start with baby lettuces or butter lettuces, and add on. Here’s a spring “menu”:

 
You can also add non-greens, such as sugar snap peas and baby radishes.
 
 
RECIPE #1: SPRING SALAD WITH SMOKED SALMON

Preparwation time is 15 minutes.

Ingredients For 3 Servings

 
Preparation

1. WASH the salad ingredients, as needed.

2. STEAM the potatoes (do not peel). When tender, remove and set aside to cool; then slice in half.

3. MAKE the vinaigrette. The recipe is below. The Meyer lemon substitutes for vinegar. Meyer lemons are less acidic (sweeter) than convention store lemons—the Eureka and the Lisbon (check out the different types of lemons).

4. PLATE 4-6 slices of salmon, fanned, on one side of the plate. Sprinkle with chives and capers.

5. DRESS the greens just before serving and toss with the salad greens.
 
 
RECIPE #2: MEYER LEMON VINAIGRETTE

Ingredients For 4-6 Servings

 
Preparation

1. WHISK the vinaigrette ingredients together. Grate the optional zest into the dressing (note: grate the zest before juicing the lemon).

2. OPTIONALLY, use the “shaking” technique: Add the ingredients to a jar with a lid and shake until blended.

Here are uses for leftover vinaigrette.

*Baby potatoes are harvested before they are fully grown, to keep them small and tender. They thus have a sweeter flavor. Creamer potatoes are particular varieties that are also harvested before they mature. They are generally either Yukon Gold potatoes or red potatoes, called gold creamers or red creamers.