Meet Geoffrey Zakarian’s Spring Radish Salad.
The next few months mark what’s essentially a time for fruits and vegetables to show off. Goodies like peas, artichokes, strawberries, herbs, cherries, and asparagus are at the peak of their powers, and one of our favorite ways to prepare them is to serve them without a lot of fanfare, so they can have a chance to shine.
That’s the concept behind chef and restauranteur Geoffrey Zakarian‘s Spring Radish Salad, a crunchy, colorful delight that’d make for a perfect warm-weather side dish or even a main, depending on your hunger level. Best of all, the dressing involves an ingredient you probably have in the house right now, but most likely don’t usually use in your dressings. (Spoiler alert: It’s grapefruit juice.) Here’s how to make this fresh dish:
Spring Radish Salad
INGREDIENTS
Dressing:
- 2 cups fresh grapefruit juice
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Salad:
- 2 cups mixed thinly shaved radishes, such as red, icicle, Easter egg, watermelon, black, purple ninja, etc.
- 2 cups watercress
- 1 bulb fennel, thinly shaved
- 2 avocados, cut into quarters
- 1 pink grapefruit, segmented
- 1 orange, segmented
- 1/4 serrano chile, finely diced
- Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper
DIRECTIONS
For the dressing: In a small pot, bring the grapefruit juice to a simmer over medium-low heat. Reduce the juice to a 1/4 cup. Set aside to cool.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the reduced grapefruit juice, vinegar, mustard, honey, and soy sauce then season with salt and pepper. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil and whisk until emulsified.
For the salad: Combine the radishes with the watercress and fennel in a medium bowl and toss with a small amount of the dressing. Arrange the avocado, grapefruit, and orange segments on a platter, drizzle with the dressing, and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle on the serrano, then top with the dressed radish mixture and serve.
