This generous, bright salad is light and indulgent at the same time, in all the right ways. Using locally farmed cold-smoked trout, crunchy young asparagus, tender baby potatoes, crispy salad leaves and a zippy, creamy green goddess dressing made with buttermilk and various fresh herbs, you can serve this as an elegant light lunch or festive starter. Recipe compliments of Leopard’s Leap.

Ingredients

For the dressing:

• ½ cup mayonnaise
• ½ cup buttermilk
• ¼ cup fresh chives, roughly chopped
• ¼ cup parsley, roughly chopped
• ¼ cup dill, roughly chopped
• 15 ml (1 tablespoon) fresh lemon juice
• 2 anchovy fillets in oil (drained)
• A pinch of salt

For the salad:

• A bunch crisp salad leaves
• A small bunch wild rocket leaves
• 500 g baby potatoes, boiled until just tender
• 15-20 ml extra virgin olive oil
• About 300 g thin fresh asparagus
• 200 g cold smoked trout ribbons/slices
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method

• In a blender, combine add all the ingredients for the dressing and blend to a smooth light green sauce. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
• To assemble, arrange the salad leaves on an extra large platter (or 6 individual plates).
• Halve the potatoes and place in a small bowl, then drizzle with olive oil, season with salt & pepper and toss to coat.
• Top the salad leaves with the potato halves, then top with the fresh asparagus and trout. Season with more black pepper, the drizzle all over with the goddess dressing. Serve at once, with more dressing on the side.