Radish & Mint Salad
Radish & Mint Salad
A simply delicious spring salad, featuring the bright flavors of radish and mint, with hints of lemon and honey. I am convinced you will be craving it all season long!
Ingredients
- 6 large radishes, very thinly sliced
- Half of an English cucumber, thinly sliced (optional)
- 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 4 cups baby romaine or arugula (watercress could be great too!)
- 4 tsp small fresh mint leaves
- 1 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup pinenuts, toasted and coarsely crushed (using a mug)
- 1 TBSP honey, for drizzling
- 1 TBSP lemon zest and additional lemon juice for drizzling
Directions
- Step 1 Combine sliced radishes and cucumber (if using) in a bow with the 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, the sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Let sit while you prepare the rest of the salad to soak up the juices.
- Step 2 Combine the greens of your choice and mint in a medium bowl. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and toss to incorporate. Taste, and season with more lemon juice, oil and salt as needed.
- Step 3 Toast the pine nuts for about 5 minutes on low heat. Then crush finely – I find using the the bottom of a mug is a great way to do this – see below.
- Step 4 Remove the radishes and cucumbers from the liquid and nestle them among the greens. Immediately before serving, sprinkle the pine nuts over the salad, drizzle with honey and top with additional lemon juice and lemon zest.
One of the best compliments I can get as a chef is when someone requests one of my dishes. Like when we hosted a dinner party and my friend Marissa requested our Crispy Skin Salmon (still one of our greatest hits!) or when I posted my Matzah Granola (our most liked post on instagram) and people were begging for the recipe and raving about it for days afterwards. This salad is another one of those success stories that I love sharing with all of you.
The inspiration actually came from a recipe request I received from one of my best friends, Allison. She was attending a Passover seder and had offered to bring a salad but was at a loss for what to make. She turned to me, her recipe guru, for ideas and was pretty much open to anything I suggested, as long as 1. it would impress her hosts and 2. it was kosher for passover. Radishes are in season right now, so I was really tempted to suggest something radish-y. I’ve also been on a mint kick too lately, so I went with my gut and paired the two together. Piecing the rest of it together was simple. I’ll admit it now – I didn’t actually test this recipe before I sent it to Allie, but I had that much confidence in the ingredients I wasn’t too worried.
My mug crushing trick:
And luckily – it was a hit! In her words, it was “the perfect addition to the Seder.” Naturally, I just HAD to taste it for myself and finally got around to making it a few nights later. And man was it amazing! I’m not going to lie, it may be one of the best salads I’ve made for the blog so far. Especially since making it garnered me the second best compliment I can get as a chef: “Babe, this is SO good – is there more!?” and the next night: “I want that salad again!” I was already obsessed with this salad, but hearing that was music to my ears! Needless to say, this has quickly become our favorite spring salad!
