Welcome to SAVEUR’s weekly column on the right way to prepare dinner native produce together with our take a look at kitchen supervisor, Fatima Khawaja. That is the place you’ll discover inventive, unfussy meal concepts plus loads of cooking recommendation—like what to do with that bumper crop of zucchini or the right way to retailer delicate heirloom tomatoes. Every week, Fatima hits the farmers market and chooses a peak-season ingredient to discover in depth. Comply with alongside, and also you’ll learn to flip the season’s bounty into straightforward plant-based meals that’ll be on the desk in below an hour.
I like the crisp and peppery taste of uncooked radishes. The crimson grocery store standbys are good in a pinch, however I discover the rainbow of heirloom radishes on the farmers market lately way more intriguing. The most effective, most delicate radishes seem proper as spring begins—whereas the cheerful roots can be found nearly year-round, they develop into spicier the longer they’re left within the floor. The radishes’ horseradishy taste holds up properly to acidic dressings, and pungent alliums, so I’ve featured a few of my favourite varieties on this vibrant and crunchy salad.
Small and tender French breakfast radishes, which additionally shine as a crudité dipped in butter, Boursin, or yogurt dips, are more and more easy-to-find, as are the colourful pink and inexperienced watermelon radishes. Whichever radish catches your eye, you’ll want to choose specimens which can be agency, unsplit, and wrinkle-free, with contemporary inexperienced tops.
About these tops—don’t throw them away! Separate the radish roots from their greens and wash each completely (radishes are notoriously gritty). In the event that they aren’t too gnarly, the greens will be tossed right into a salad or pan-fried in butter. Saved within the fridge, in an hermetic container lined with paper towels, radish greens will retain their crispness for about three days; the roots, saved individually, can final every week or extra.
Biting texture, delicate, radishy warmth, floral honey, and tart lemon juice make this salad a straightforward and refreshing addition to your spring or summer season kitchen lineup. Dressing the radishes 10 minutes earlier than serving enhances their taste as they tackle a quick-pickle character. Salty, pressed ricotta salata, which is totally different from atypical contemporary ricotta, is salted, pressed, and barely aged, yielding a dryer, crumbly but sliceable texture. Search for it in your native cheese store, Italian specialty markets, or well-stocked grocery shops.
Shaved Radish Salad with Sunflower Seeds and Ricotta Salata
Beneficiant dressing and plenty of added texture takes a humble root vegetable to new limits.
Yield: serves 4
Time:
quarter-hour
Components
- ¼ cups plus 2 Tbsp. contemporary lemon juice
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tbsp. honey
- Kosher salt and freshly floor black pepper
- 3 tbsp. toasted sunflower seeds, toasted
- 2 scallions, darkish inexperienced tops eliminated, sliced thinly on the bias
- 2 lb. radishes (ideally French Breakfast, Cherry Belle, Watermelon, or Easter Egg), lower into ½-in. items
- ¼ cups coarsely chopped mint leaves
- 2 oz. ricotta salata, thinly shaved
Directions
- In a serving bowl, whisk collectively the lemon juice, oil, and honey. Season with salt and pepper to style, then add the sunflower seeds, scallions, and radishes and toss to coat. Sprinkle over the mint and ricotta salata and serve.
