Salad of radish, carrot & wild rice
When I drew the curtains on this particular Sunday morning I was half expecting to see a gloomy day. Instead, sun shone through the bedroom door and made me want to get out and hit the pavement. Not in a power walk or jogging kind of way, but something a little more food related. Strenuous exercise on a Sunday morning? I think not.
I was already in the mood for making something, so the best place to start was the market. Marrickville Farmers’ Market, to be precise.
One thing I noticed at the market was how damn colourful it was looking. Bunches of rainbow chard piled high, multi-coloured carrots and beautifully fresh coloured radishes from a new producer I’ve previously seen at the Bondi Farmers’ Market. Field to Feast were in their second week at Marrickville so it was nice to see them closer to home.
Once I’d spotted the radishes I immediately thought of a salad in a Croatian feature in Saveur magazine, brought to my attention by the fab David at Cocoa & Lavender. Salata od rotkvica (salad of radish) often finds its way to a seafood lunch table with its refreshing crunch of thinly sliced radish simply dressed in lemon juice, herbs, perhaps a little mayo and seasoning. An ideal accompaniment to just about any type of seafood.
I thought I’d take the idea of this salad and mix it up a tad with some of the colourful carrots I also picked up at the market; and to make it a little more wholesome I’ve thrown in some cooked wild rice for added texture. Any greenery can be incorporated as well. I’ve gone with some micro chervil that I’ve started growing in my garden and leaves from the carrots. There’s a lovely zing from the lemon juice which goes nicely with the sweet carrots and peppery radish.
Now if I close my eyes, I’m imagining myself sitting at a rustic little restaurant somewhere within the stone walls of Dubrovnik, nibbling on this salad with grilled scampi and a crisp glass of chilled vino.
If only that were true.
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servings
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- 150 g radishes
- 150 g carrots
- 50 g wild rice cooked, drained and cooled
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise recipe link in notes
- 2 tbsp virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup parsley leaves finely chopped
- 1½ tsp fresh thyme leaves
- Salt & black pepper to taste
- Fresh chervil & carrot leaves to garnish
Ingredients
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- Using as mandolin, slice the radishes and carrots into thin ribbons and slices. Any small radishes can be cut into wedges. Place the sliced vegetables into a bowl, cover with cold water and several ice cubes. Refrigerate for half an hour. This will help refresh the vegetables and make them curl a little.
- In a separate mixing bowl combine the mayonnaise, olive oil, parsley and thyme. Season with sea salt and black pepper.
- When ready to assemble, drain the vegetables very well and add to the bowl with the dressing along with the cooked rice. Using your fingertips, gently toss the dressing through the vegetables and rice, tumble onto a platter and scatter with chervil and carrot leaves. Serve immediately while cold.
