Today we check in with Official Salad Correspondent Natalie Hoch, who’s reporting from the tree-lined avenues of brownstone Brooklyn with an inspired spring salad. Trust Natalie, a girl who eats a second helping of salad after dessert, to come up with something that even the most hardened greens-hater might want to stab a fork in.

fava bean salad

fava bean pods, ripe for the picking

Spring is here! The gorgeous blossoming pink, white, and lavender trees that lined the streets of Brooklyn in April are now bursting with new leafy green in May. The weather is warm, the air is fresh with recent rain, and the farmer’s market is finally offering more than apples and jams—hooray!

Crisp, flavorful, and bright spring salads are on my mind, and the first fresh produce of the season is giving me an excellent incentive to get creative in the kitchen. After a sunny stroll through Grand Army Plaza’s fabulous market, I decided to combine farm-fresh fava beans and spring beets for a colorful treat, inspired by the blossoming colors of spring.

Pink and green, crunchy and creamy, spicy and smooth—this salad makes for a refreshing lunch on a hot and humid day. Perfect with a crisp white wine and flip flops!

fava bean radish avocado and beet salad
>> Read on for a salad that sings of spring with fava beans and radishes. >>