If you ever had the curiosity to look for a spring salad recipe, you certainly noticed that there are tens of them. There is no specific recipe but there are many variations that beg the question: What is a spring salad? When talking about a dish that contains a season in its name, it is clear that it needs to be made mostly out of season-specific ingredients. A genuine spring salad must reflect the season thus it must be rich in greens and fresh ingredients. What can you use in a spring salad? For a basic spring salad, you can use a bunch of things. Lettuce is a great basis for a salad and it is also seasonal produce that you can find fresh. The same goes for spring onions and peas. These three ingredients add freshness to a salad but you do not need to use all of them. For some color and an equally refreshing taste, you can use radishes and carrots. While carrots may not be a seasonal ingredient, you can use them for some added freshness. The same goes for bell peppers. They add a lovely crunch to a salad and make it taste fresh as they are rich in water content. What should you avoid in a spring salad? Since a spring salad needs to focus on freshness and seasonal ingredients, protein does not fit into the picture. There are examples of such salads using eggs or fetta cheese which can be considered acceptable but anything else such as ham should be avoided. Even chicken should not be added to a spring salad since if it will no longer be a spring salad but a chicken salad. When making a spring salad, the main focus should be seasonal vegetables and they should be the dominant ingredients. Anything else that is added is secondary.