If you like spring rolls, then you will love this salad. All of the goodness typically stuffed into a rice paper-wrapped Thai or Vietnamese roll -- rice noodles, shrimp, crisp veggies, fresh herbs and peppers -- is jumbled together in a big bowl of salad. The result? You might be tempted to call it a deconstructed spring roll, with all the great flavor minus the labor of actually making a roll.

Once the ingredients are prepped, it's quick to assemble for a light and healthy dinner. The dressing is the magic touch that pulls this colorful dish together. It has the ingredients you'll usually find in an Asian dipping sauce and then some: ginger, garlic, Sriracha, lime and peanut butter. The trick is to blitz all the dressing ingredients in a food processor (including the lime sections) to form a thick and potent sauce. In fact, you might want to make extra dressing to keep on hand -- it's a great dipping sauce for crudites or tossed with cooked Asian noodles.

Shrimp and Rice Noodle Salad With Peanut Sauce

Active time: 20 minutes

Total time: 20 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Dressing:

1/2 cup canola oil

1 lime, peel and pith removed, quartered

2 garlic cloves

2 tablespoons coarsely grated peeled ginger with juices

2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon Sriracha

2 teaspoons runny honey

Salad:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound large (18/20) shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Salt to taste

4 ounces rice noodles, cooked per manufacturer's instructions, room temperature

3 scallions, ends trimmed, white and green parts sliced on the diagonal

1 large carrot, cut in matchsticks

1/2 English cucumber, seeded and cut in matchsticks

2 cups coarsely chopped Napa cabbage

1 cup bean sprouts

1 cup sugar snap peas, thinly sliced lengthwise

1 red jalapeno pepper, stemmed and seeded, finely chopped

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, coarsely chopped, plus extra for garnish

1/2 cup fresh cilantro sprigs, coarsely chopped, plus extra for garnish

1/4 cup chopped roasted peanuts for garnish

Place all the dressing ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Transfer to a bowl.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high. Add the shrimp in one layer; sprinkle with the red pepper flakes and lightly season with salt. Cook until the shrimp are pink on both sides and just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes, turning as needed. Transfer to a plate.

Place the rice noodles, scallions, carrots, cucumbers, cabbage, bean sprouts, snap peas, jalapeno, mint and cilantro in a large bowl. Add the shrimp and half the dressing and toss to combine.

Divide the salad among 4 plates. Scatter the peanuts over the salads and garnish with additional mint and cilantro. Serve with the remaining dressing on the side.

CAPTIONS AND CREDITS

A trip to the farmers market easily yields the ingredients to assemble a one-dish springtime dinner. It doesn't require much: a whole chicken, a bunch of spring greens, new potatoes and green garlic. Add to it a generous glug of olive oil and the juice of a fresh lemon, and you have the fixings for a fresh and delicious family dinner.

Green garlic is the younger, milder version of garlic before its root grows into the papery head we know so well. Its season is brief and a sure sign of spring. In its young stage, green garlic resembles thick scallions, and its root and stalks (both edible) have a sharp onion flavor faintly redolent with garlic. Green garlic may be eaten raw, braised or roasted, and the cooking will mellow its flavor.

In this recipe, green garlic teams up with its older version, packing a double whammy of flavor in the chicken's pan juices while it roasts. The garlic's roots and white stalks are tucked under the chicken, which nestles in a baking dish between hunks of potatoes and the garlic head while roasting. Once roasted, the cloves from the head are whisked into the pan juices, which dress the greens and flavor the potatoes. Don't discard the green garlic tips. Chop them up and mix them with lemon and olive oil for a simple gremolata to scatter over the chicken.

Roasted Chicken With New Potatoes and Green Garlic

Note: The beauty of this recipe is its ease of preparation and one-dish method. The veggies and chicken roast together -- either on the grill or in the oven. Other vegetables such as onions and carrots may be substituted.

Active time: 30 minutes

Total time: 2 hours and 30 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

1 whole chicken, about 4 pounds

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more to coat the chicken

1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

3/4 pound green garlic, about 8 stalks

1 pound new potatoes, halved crosswise

1 large head of garlic, outer layers of skin removed, top trimmed by 1/4 inch to expose the cloves.

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1 lemon, halved

Salad:

6 ounces spring greens, such as lamb's lettuce, arugula or baby spinach

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

Lightly drizzle and coat the chicken with olive oil and season all over, including inside the cavity, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Snip off the green stalks of the green garlic and set aside for the gremolata. Trim the ends of the bulbs and peel away the outer skin. Place the bulbs, the potatoes and garlic head in a large bowl. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil and season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper and toss to coat. Dump the vegetables into a large cast-iron skillet or baking dish and nestle the chicken into the center of the vegetables, breast-side up.

Roast until the chicken is thoroughly cooked through, 1 to 1 1/4 hours, basting occasionally with the pan juices and rotating the pan from time to time to ensure even cooking. Remove from the heat and transfer the chicken to a cutting board. Let rest for 15 minutes. While the chicken rests, squeeze the roasted garlic into the pan and gently mix around to combine with the juices and vegetables.

Make the gremolata: Finely chop the reserved green garlic tips and place in a bowl. You will need about 1 cup. Add lemon zest, the juice of 1/2 lemon, 1 tablespoon olive oil and a pinch of salt; stir to combine.

Make the salad: Place the greens in a large bowl. Whisk the oil, lemon juice, mustard and salt in a small bowl. Add to the greens and toss to coat.

Spread the salad around the rim of a large platter, leaving the center clear for the chicken. Carve the chicken into serving pieces and arrange in the center of the platter. Scatter the roasted potatoes and green garlic around the chicken. Spoon some of the pan juices over the chicken and vegetables and garnish with the gremolata.

CAPTIONS AND CREDITS

Springtime is about new beginnings in the kitchen. It's the time for baby roots, wispy leaves and tender stalks to tentatively emerge from the earth. Fresh, crisp and delicate, these greens are a sight for winter eyes and a delicacy to eat, a simple cleanse following a season of hardy winter fare. But spring can be fickle. Its promise of budding flowers and new growth can be erased in a single day with a stubborn blast of cold weather, altering a sunny vignette to a blustery stew-craving day.

Here is a salad that will help you ride this changeable time. It celebrates springtime's early asparagus shoots and baby greens, tossing them into a nourishing bowl of black lentils, which grounds the salad, providing heft and substance in response to any lingering winter weather.

Black lentils are tiny, and their pelletlike resemblance to caviar has earned them the nickname "beluga lentils." Like brown or green lentils, black lentils are a fortifying source of iron, fiber, protein, folate and magnesium -- plus, they are easy on the wallet. Unlike other lentils, black lentils remain firm when cooked, which makes them a great addition to salads, while their inky color provides vivid contrast to bright vegetables.

So, go ahead, celebrate spring and indulge in this healthy salad. If any winter weather comes knocking, the lentils have got your back.

Black Lentil Salad With Asparagus and Egg

Active time: 45 minutes

Total time: 45 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

1 cup black lentils

6 to 8 thin asparagus

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for serving

2 cups coarsely chopped greens, such as spinach or arugula

2 spring onions, white and pale green parts thinly sliced

1 small red jalapeno pepper, finely chopped

1/4 cup chopped parsley

2 tablespoons chopped mint

2 hard-cooked egg yolks, crumbled

Rinse and sift through the lentils for any small stones. Put the lentils in a large saucepan and cover with water by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat and reduce the heat to medium-low. Partially cover the pan and simmer until the lentils are tender but firm, about 25 minutes. Drain the lentils and rinse under cold water to cool. Transfer to a large bowl.

While the lentils are cooking, bring a wide pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add the asparagus and blanch until they are bright green and crisp-tender, no more than 1 minute. Drain and rinse the asparagus under cold water to stop the cooking process. Cut off and reserve the tips and cut the stalks into 1/2-inch pieces.

Whisk the garlic, oil, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, salt and black pepper in a small bowl. Pour over the lentils and stir to coat. Add the asparagus tips and stalks, the greens, spring onions, jalapeno, parsley and mint. Gently stir to combine and taste for seasoning -- you might need more salt. If the salad is too dry at this point, drizzle with a little extra oil or a squeeze of lemon.

Transfer the salad to a platter or divide among serving plates. Alternatively, arrange over a pile of greens. Garnish with the crumbled egg yolks and black pepper and serve.

CAPTIONS AND CREDITS