Snap Pea & Radish Salad - Hints of Spring!

This bright, crispy Snap Pea & Radish salad is a foretaste of spring. Sugar sweet peas and zippy little radishes make for a fresh and colourful salad combination, kissed with a fresh and very slightly creamy dressing with tangy lemon notes. It's a great side dish for any meal. (Skip to recipe.)

Is it or isn't it?

Capricious spring just can't seem to make up its mind here in the north. We've had gloriously sunny 20°C (68°F) days followed by 0°C (32°F) days the next, with blowing snow and freezing nights. I'm not sure whether to put our winter coats away or haul out more wooly long johns!

Today, the last bit of snow is disappearing quickly.

But by tomorrow, who knows?

Ah, springtime in Alberta. A story of contradictions.

While anxiously awaiting for the first greens of spring, we satisfy our cravings with this bright springlike Sugar Snap Pea and Radish Salad. It personifies what I think spring should taste like: crispy, sweet new-growth-green peas tossed in a glorious  heap with the zippy snap of radishes and fresh green onions. It's all lightly dressed with an ever-so-slightly creamy vinaigrette laced with the tangy zip of lemon and the invigorating hint of fresh mint. One crunchy bite and I can taste spring. It's coming!

Sugar Snap & Radish Salad is Light and Tasty

Just a few fresh spring ingredients needed.

Cut the snap peas into long diagonal shreds.

And slice the radishes thinly with a knife or a mandolin.

Add the sliced onions and mint, and toss it all with a light citrusy dressing.

Then if any more of those dastardly snowstorms dare to swoop in, we won't even notice them!

* * * * *

 

Kitchen Frau Notes: Sugar snap peas are whole pea pods that are thick and have fleshy edible shells. They are sweet in flavour and are tasty to eat raw or use for dipping. Snow peas are the whole pea pods that are flat and thin, with very undeveloped peas inside - they can also be eaten whole raw, but are used mostly for stir fries.

Snap Pea & Radish Salad

for the dressing:

• zest and juice of half a lemon (~1 teaspoon zest & 1½ tablespoons juice)
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup or honey
• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• sprinkling of pepper

for the salad:

• 8 oz (225 gms) sugar snap peas (about 2½ cups)
• 3 green onions
• 1 bunch radishes (about 10-12 medium/1 cup, thinly sliced)
• ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) sliced fresh mint (or chopped fresh dill, parsley, chervil, or tarragon)

Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a medium sized bowl.

Thinly slice the sugar snap peas and the green onions on a steep diagonal to make long shreds. Add them to the dressing.

Thinly slice the radishes on a mandolin or with a knife. (Leave the stems attached to use as a handhold while slicing.) Add them to the dressing.

Stack the mint leaves and thinly slice them, and add them to the rest of the salad.

Toss the salad to coat everything.

Serves 4.

Guten Appetit!

 

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