Here is another wonderful combination of fruit and raw vegetables that we often use to make our snack foods and salads. I find that it makes a light and delightful first course.
The French figured out a long time ago that the best way to cut the heat of a raw radish is to dip it into softened butter and sprinkle it with salt. They also take it one step further and put it on a baguette, turning it into a light lunch or a snack with wine.
If you’ve never eaten turnips raw before, you will love their slightly peppery, earthy flavor, especially when combined with the radishes and raw asparagus.
The natural bite of the radishes is balanced by fresh basil, orange segments, and a simple citrus dressing.
If you don’t have sugar snaps, the carrots and radishes are great partners à deux, but the peas add a nice texture and make a Palm Beach (Lily Pulitzer) color combination.
This is one of our favorite salads to make at home, and we consider it a meal in itself.
I first tasted this wonderfully fresh salad years ago in a Lebanese restaurant and then recreated my own version.
Sweet and crisp, raw sugar snap peas are hard to resist. In this recipe they are chopped into bite-size pieces and paired with crispy chunks of radish, a bit of mint and crumbles of smooth, creamy, fresh cheese.
These keep in their marinade for about two weeks in the refrigerator, but are best within a couple of hours of pickling.
You will love what happens to radishes and carrots in this pickle -- one turns a sheer sunset pink while the other practically pulsates orange. Chinese pickles are a cook's great cheat. In an elaborate Chinese menu, they save you from having to pull off time-consuming appetizers while they tune up palates for what's to come. Although these pickles are Chinese in origin, they happily pair up with a burger, a bowl of beans, or a plate of grilled chicken.