Put me in front of a watermelon and I will show it who’s boss. I love them, it’s a summer staple. Who says you can’t enjoy a little bit of that warm weather vibrancy in the middle of winter? Okay, this is totally sounding like a stretch, I hear you. Even though it’s a mild 80 degrees this week in Los Angeles (I apologize for that immediately) and recently I was soaking up some golden smiles having lunch at Lemonade (really, I’m not trying to rub this in, I’m from Michigan originally. Promise). I transported myself away from the “why is it still getting dark at 4:30pm hoo-ha-hump” and feel in sweet sweet crush mode with this crunchy tangy side salad. Winter produce, summer taste. Genius! Winter blues be gone.
Let’s just take it to the next level by throwing on some black sesame seeds and go full on literal watermelon cutesy mode.
Yup, I went there. I couldn’t resist.
Recipe: Watermelon Radish Salad
Ingredients
- 1 large watermelon radish
- 1 cup sugar snap peas
- 3 TBS rice wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 TBS sesame oil
- Black sesame seeds
Instructions
- With a mandolin finely slice the watermelon radish into discs, cut large discs in half
- Chop snap peas into 3rds
- Toss with rice wine vinegar & sesame oil
- sprinkle with black sesame seeds
Preparation time: 10 minute(s)
Number of servings (side portions): 4
In tune with my on going mission statement: side dishes do not have to be the silent sick kick! This pile of sunshine tap dances and waves some serious jazz hands all over and around his dance partner seared ahi. Delightful, really.
What kind of sides or meals are you creating to help you past the wintertime/post vacation blahs?
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11 comments
Kristin @ FoodFash says:
Jan 3, 2012
I’ve never seen/heard of a watermelon radish. They are stunning!
Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table says:
Jan 3, 2012
Gorgeous salad! The sesames seeds are a neat addition. I like to make salads with chopped celery, apple, fennel, and whatever herbs I have laying around. The crunch is fantastic and it gives me the raw I miss in the colder months.
Sarah @ pão e queijo says:
Jan 3, 2012
Ahhh how cool is that! I had heard of the watermelon radish but wow… it’s gorgeous!
Julia says:
Jan 9, 2012
So colourful and delicious looking! A perfect dish to hold winter depression off! I will have a look where I can grab some watermelon radish (nver heard of this before, too)…
TheCuisinerd says:
Jan 9, 2012
You might be able to find at the local farmers market or at high end specialty stores such as Whole Foods here in the states…but seeing that you’re from Germany, I’m not quite sure where to start looking! Let me know if you do find them.
tastynyummy says:
Jan 17, 2012
awesome. thanks for posting this. i’ve been hooked on the watermelon radish salad at lemonade. they do it with seared ahi tuna which is delicious too. cookbook is a little specialty grocery store on echo park avenue just off of sunset near morton which carries the radish too. i just bought seeds and am going to attempt to grow them for next winter.
TheCuisinerd says:
Jan 18, 2012
I get it with the ahi as well! Sounds like you live in my neighbirhood too! I am going to check out the seed selection next time I stop in.
Jonathan Aquino says:
Feb 9, 2012
“Yup, I went there.” – LOL
Lauren says:
Feb 13, 2012
This looks so fun! Almost like I wouldn’t want to eat it… just stare at it. Stunning photo.
Nadia says:
Mar 27, 2013
Thanks soooo much for posting this! I got hooked on their salad after mistakenly thinking it was going to have watermelon in it. Now I’m addicted to the watermelon radish and have been trying to recreate the recipe. Do you know if there is anything I could replace the sugar snap pea with that isn’t a pea?
The Cuisinerd says:
Mar 27, 2013
The snap peas are nice, crisp texture with a sweet and not over powering taste – I suppose you could replace with cold blanched green beans or maybe even a little chopped cucumber! Experiment and report back!