Easy Pea Shoots Salad Recipe With Honeycomb & Chive Cheese

I found myself really inspired to make a pea shoots salad recipe after a trip with my dad to the Ballard Farmers Market. There were so many ingredients that just screamed spring: pea shoots, mixed greens, radishes, chives…the explosion of produce was a welcome sight after the winter months.

This easy pea shoots salad recipe is inspired by what I found at the market. Get ready to enjoy fresh spring flavors and the beauty it adds to your table.

Easy Pea Shoots Salad Recipe With Honeycomb & Chive Cheese

What are pea shoots?

As it sounds, pea shoots come from the pea plant. They’re the early growth that appears before the pea plant matures. You’ll find them starting to appear in early spring at farmers markets and specialty grocery stores.

Pea shoots have a delicate stem a few inches long with a few baby leaves, as seen in the top right of the below photo. They’re perfect for this pea shoots salad recipe because they add a subtle, fresh pea flavor.

To store pea shoots, wrap them in an ever-so-slightly moist paper towel and keep them in your fridge crisper until you’re ready to use. Make sure to use them in a few days because just like the window in which they’re available, pea shoots don’t last long once harvested!

What This Pea Shoots Salad Tastes Like

This pea shoots salad has a lot of balance despite being super simple to make. It’s tangy from the vinaigrette and lemon zest, but a touch sweet when you get a bite of the sweet honeycomb. It also has a peppery bite from the radish and pea shoots.

Then, there’s the cheese.

I’m completely obsessed with this cheese. It’s the Ladysmith Chive from Samish Bay Cheese out of Bow, WA in the Skagit Valley (yes, home of the Washington tulip festival). They describe it as a cross between queso fresco and ricotta salata, which is really accurate. It has enough firmness to crumble, but is softer like queso fresco.

I personally think this made the salad, so I highly recommend using it. You can really taste the chive, which is a lovely herb that starts springing up in the spring (heh).

I also picked up honeycomb, but for the life of me I can’t remember who made it because we threw out the packaging too quickly. 🙁

The honeycombs have a gum-like consistency that adds a bite to the dish.

I prefer leaving it out on the counter under the task lighting so that it softens a bit and you can drizzle it on. The honey was so good and fresh, but to be honest I didn’t love the texture of the honeycomb when I was trying it on it’s own. But in the salad, you don’t taste anything except the yummy sweetness of local honey.

If you don’t have honeycomb, you likely have honey since it’s a pantry staple. You can easily sub in that if you don’t have honeycomb!

The Pea Shoots Salad Recipe

Serves 4 | Active 20 minutes | 20 minutes total

Ingredients:

1 small clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. juice from a Meyer lemon, zest removed & reserved (~1 tsp)
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
~6 pepper mill grinds of pink peppercorns (or black pepper to taste)
1/3 C extra virgin olive oil
~6 oz. mixed greens, washed (the flowers in my mix are nasturtiums)
~6 oz. pea shoots, washed and cut into about thirds
~4 radishes, thinly sliced with a mandolin
Maldon sea salt for sprinkling
~12 oz. good quality, crumbly cheese (I used Ladysmith Chive from Samish Bay Cheese)
~3 oz. honeycomb for drizzling/garnish (or honey if you can’t find honeycomb)

Directions:

Add the garlic, mustard, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and pepper to a bowl. Whisk to incorporate. While whisking, slowly drizzle in the extra virgin olive oil and whisk constantly until fully blended. Set aside.
Toss the mixed greens, pea shoots, and sliced radishes in a bowl until incorporated. Add half the vinaigrette and toss until incorporated. Taste and add more vinaigrette as needed to your palate.
Divide salad among plates. Sprinkle with Maldon sea salt (or similar) and the lemon zest. Top with crumbled cheese. Scrape off some of the honey comb with a spoon and drizzle it on top of the salad. Serve and enjoy!

Nutritional Information Per Serving:

Nutritional Facts Disclaimer: I am not a registered nutritionist and therefore these numbers are approximate. I researched the serving sizes and facts for each ingredient in this recipe (mostly using the manufacturer labels and this site), but slight variations in things like seasoning, garnishes, and substitutions can change the nutritional information. Use this information only as a general indication of your nutritional intake.