Spring Fever

   Who doesn't love spring? Although winters aren't what they used to be, we all anticipate that 21. March, officially the first day after which we start thinking about BBQs and hiking. Sometimes winters are light, like this one. It had spring temperatures, and that was really cool, but it kind a sucks out the spring fever. I mean, is there anything better then putting your first piece on the grill and opening a beer in the same time? Well, when that thing comes in January, it's somehow not the same. That's maybe the only good reason why I wouldn't live in those places of eternal spring. I mean where is the magic of anticipation.

Dolac Market in Zagreb, Croatia, coolest market I've ever visited.

    On markets on the other hand, spring is all present even in January. Lettuce, spinach, even tomatoes are there flirting with you, and it's really hard to stay on the right track. Then sometimes you  are not strong enough and you buy some of those, you make a salad, and you are like wtf, those are not spring veggies, it tastes like shit. That's why you should eat vegetables only when they are in their prime season. Just go to the market and by cheapest vegetables there and you'll be alright.

When spring comes to markets in my city.

    In April, you start eating spring veggies. There's lettuce, spring onions, radish and spring cabbage. There's also fresh parsley, celery and dill. You buy all those and mix them all up. That's what we call vitamin salad in Serbia. There is no definition for vitamin salad, it's basically every salad that contains more then one vegetable, that's not shopska salad. I experiment every spring and few days ago I found an awesome combination.

Use all spring onions, green part is also great.

Ingerdients:

-lettuce (half if it's small, or quarter if it's bigger)

-spring onions (one big or two smaller ones, together with green parts)

-radish (3 small, or 1 big one)

-spring cabbage (one eighth of one middle sized cabbage)

-celery

-dill

-salt, olive oil, lemon juice or wine vinegar and some black peppercorns, water.

    You will need one big bowl. Shred your cabbage in it, cut the dill and add it to the bowl, then put some salt on it. Take a pestle and hit it hard until juices start to come out. Then cut the celery, radishes and spring onions, grind some black pepper into your salad and cut lettuce leaves in stripes and add them too. Put some more salt on it, pour some olive oil on top, some lemon juice or vinegar and half a cup of water in the end and you got your salad.

    Serve it fresh, together with some grilled bread rubbed with olive oil and garlic (a.k.a. bruschetta) or in smaller quantities on the side with some other dish.

Meet your new favorite salad :)

First two photos i found on web sites of www.zagreb-touristinfo.hr (Tržnica Dolac (Autor fotografije: P. Macek) and www.rtv.rs. Thanks guys! :)