Summer Radish Salad

Nothing says summer more than a fresh salad, made from ingredients that were just picked or pulled from your garden.

And this salad will satisfy your craving for refreshing cucumbers and fragrant dill.  All four key players are so easy to grow in your garden.  I promise the freshness and aroma of these ingredients is irresistible.  And if you’re veggies are still working their way to ripening, no worries, as these ingredients can be readily found at good prices at your local farmer’s market.

I like to think of this salad as a baby sister to this meal as it contains all these delicious ingredients (well, minus the sunflower oil of course).  You will be sure to find us serving one or the other at least once a week during the warm months and usually outdoors on our patio.

I’d also like to add that there are some salads that are too tender for olive oil.  This is one of those.  I love my extra virgin olive oil from our local Italian olive growers, but this salad calls for a smoother, lighter, more delicate oil.  I like to use this unrefined sunflower oil but avocado oil works great too.  It’s a staple in a Russian kitchen.  If you never used unrefined sunflower oil in your salads, I would encourage you to branch out and try it.  It’s a bit pricey if you go for the unrefined version in amber glass jars versus those found in European markets but a little goes a long way when it comes to sunflower oil.  You can add a tablespoon of sunflower oil to this salad just enough to add that buttery, fragrant aroma.