Summer salad with green goddess dressing

Fiona Andersen

As well as running his award-winning Oamaru restaurant with its expansive kitchen garden, Bevan has been working on a new cookbook. Set to hit the shelves this month in time for Christmas, Riverstone Kitchen Another Helping contains 100 recipes (including many favourites that have appeared already in Bite). As always, they feature Bevan's fresh modern style. This summery salad is from the book.

Ingredients

½	Cos lettuce, washed and roughly chopped (Main)
2	Tomatoes, ripe, chopped
½	Cucumbers, roughly chopped
8	Asparagus spears, blanched and roughly chopped (Main)
¼ cup	Red onions, finely sliced
1	Spring onion, finely sliced
1	Fennel bulb, finely sliced
½ cup	Lettuce, optional
2 heads	Chive flowers, picked, optional

Green goddess dressing

1	Avocado, peeled and stone removed (Main)
1 cup	Buttermilk, or thin natural yoghurt (Main)
1 cup	Flat leaf (Italian) parsley, picked
½ cup	Mint, picked
½ cup	Chives, roughly chopped
¼ cup	Fennel, tips
½ cup	Extra virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Place cos lettuce, tomato, cucumber, asparagus, onions and fennel in a large bowl with half of the dressing. Toss to combine and divide between two bowls. Spoon remaining dressing over salad and finish with miner's lettuce and chive flowers, if using. Serve immediately.

Green goddess dressing

1. Place avocado, buttermilk and herbs in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Add olive oil and season to taste with a little salt and pepper. Add a little water for a thinner consistency if desired.

See more of Bevan's recipes

• Mini banana and chocolate doughnuts with chocolate sauce
• Rib-eye of beef with potato salad and summer slaw