A salad doesn’t always have to be made with greens. This shaved radish salad contains feta cheese and fresh mint leaves and gets a simple dressing of olive oil and fresh lemon juice.
This radish salad is as easy as it is elegant. It is undoubtedly not very filling on the stomach but rather cleanses the palate in anticipation of a main course.
I tried to find different varieties of radishes for this salad, but the grocery stores are pretty one-dimensional when it comes to radishes…round and red are what you get.
Whole Foods did have this bunch of radishes they called Easter egg radishes. A slight color variation for interest which when sliced very thinly with a mandoline gives a slight color difference.
There is a variety called watermelon radish that has pinkish-red flesh that would make this dish really stunning to look at, but I think you may have to grow your own. Nevertheless, this is an attractive salad with fresh mint and a bit of lemon zest garnish.
The vinaigrette is just olive oil, fresh lemon juice, and a couple of pinches of salt. This harmoniously blends the flavors of radishes, mint, and feta.
I added freshly cracked black peppercorns to the salad too. Peppercorns are put into a plastic zipper bag and pounded with a mallet or rolled with a rolling pin.
I chose to pound the peppercorns with a meat tenderizer mallet and Mary Jo was wondering what the h*** the noise was. At the time, I was using the kitchen counter as my anvil. So to make less noise, (I thought), I started pounding the peppercorns on the Boos Block which is on top of our portable dishwasher.
Same h*** of a noise, just a little lower frequency, same decibels. I stopped pounding before all the pepper was fully cracked, but used it on the radish salad and the larger pepper pieces were a little surprising when bitten into. They had extra heat but in a good way.
If you are ever out of greens but need a salad, try a shaved radish salad with feta and mint.
Here are some more salad ideas you may like:
- Fresh Garden Greens Salad
- Smoked Salmon and Egg Salad
- Kale and Fennel Salad
- Peach Cucumber Salad
- Fresh Greens Salad with Basil and Mint
- Traditional Caesar Salad
Shaved radish salad with feta and mint
Ingredients
- 8 oz. radishes, sliced thinly with a mandoline about 1 cup sliced
- 2 oz. crumbled feta cheese
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp lemon zest garnish
- fresh mint leaves garnish
- crushed peppercorns
- flaked sea salt
Instructions
- Mix together olive oil. fresh lemon juice and a couple pinches of kosher salt in a small pitcher. Stir to combine.
- On a small plate, assemble 1/4 cup of shaved radishes, sprinkle with 1/2 oz. crumbled feta cheese. Add crushed peppercorns, flaked sea salt, and mint leaves. Drizzle with about 2 tsp. olive oil, lemon juice dressing. Garnish with a bit of lemon zest. (You will end up with a bit of extra dressing. I used the extra to pan fry some shrimp).
- Repeat for 4 servings.
Super flavorful salad with dressing.
This salad is an amazing and lovely mix of flavors and colors!