This salad is really simple. What makes it is the quality of the ingredients, and the interplay between them. Crisp and refreshing, this salad is nice as a contrast to foods off the grill. Although best done with a mandolin, a really sharp nice will work for the slicing as well.
INGREDIENTS:
1-2 bunches of radishes, rootlets trimmed and all but 1 inch of stem removed (the remaining stem helps as a handle while slicing) 4-5 cups of lettuce such as green oak, butter leaf, or the pale inner leaves of Little Gem, cut into ¼ inch shreds 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1½-inch fine threads (resembling angel hair pasta) using the fine comb on a Ben-Riner or a mandolin* 1 cup, or as needed, Creamy Basil Dressing (see recipe) -Optional- 1-2 cups radish or mixed microgreens for topping ¼ cup untoasted pine nutsMETHOD:
Place the carrot threads in a bowl of ice water, using your fingers to separate the threads from each other. Allow to chill for 15-20 minutes to crisp up. Remove from water and dry on a towel or kitchen paper. Do not discard water.
Using a slicer or knife, slice the radishes into very thin coins and put into the ice water as you go. Add more ice if there is little left in the bowl. Allow radish coins to become crisp-around 15-20 minutes-and dry as for the carrot threads. When the vegetables are dry, they can be stored separately in the refrigerator until needed.
To assemble salad, put the lettuce into a bowl and drizzle with a small amount of enough dressing. Toss to evenly coat the lettuce and distribute between four chilled plates. If using the radish or mixed microgreens for the salad, scatter the lettuce with the carrot threads and mix in while dressing the lettuce.
Put the radishes into the bowl and toss with the remaining dressing in the bowl. The radish coins should have only a little dressing on them, but add a tiny bit to the bowl if needed. Place radishes in a low mound in the center of the salads.
If you have not mixed the carrots into the lettuce, mound them into the center of the radishes. If you have used them, it is time to add the sprouts. Place mounds of them onto the center of the salad, scatter the plate with the pine nuts if you are using them, season with some salt and pepper, and serve right away.
You can, of course, just add dressing to the bottom of the bowl, then pile all the ingredients into the bowl and toss to coat and ten serve the salad. It’ll taste a little different, but still be delicious.
Chef’s Notes: *If you do not have a mandolin and don’t feel like working on extreme knife skills, cut the carrot on a diagonal that is around 1½ inches long and use a peeler to take off very thin and narrow strips of carrot. Drop them straight into the ice water. They should curl and crisp up fairly quickly.
Serves: 4
Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen
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