Radish, Carrot and Snow Pea Asian Slaw

Ahh, fresh vegetable salads. Too many of the uninitiated think they're boring or only eaten to fulfill some sort of "healthy" quotient.

Dear readers, don't fall into this trap! Feed them this salad and behold the transformation!

Often, I will confess, that tossing a bunch of random chopped vegetables into a salad is my idea of a great veggie side. But sometimes you have to wow people to woo and win them. That's when you go for the good stuff, like snow peas and pink radishes, the exotics that actually are worth the extra trip to the produce department.

The truth is that the dressing on this salad can transfer to other chopped salad options, but it really does work best with Asian centric vegetables, such as radishes, snow peas and carrots. If you're catering to a more gourmet crowd who are not afraid of vegetable salads, toss in some julienned daikon radish or some bean sprouts or even green beans cut on the bias and lightly steamed. But stick with the dressing, it's what makes it all worth while.

Radish, Carrot and Snow Pea Asian Slaw

4-5 red radishes (or 1 large pink turnip radish)
1 carrot
15 snow peas
1 tablespoon cilantro, minced
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
pinch of salt

Bring pot of water to boil. Meanwhile snap stems off of snow peas and pull to remove stringy edge. Drop in boiling water for 20 seconds and drain and place in bowl with cold water to stop them from cooking. Cut radishes and carrot into matchstick size pieces, using a mandolin to first slice them and then a knife to cut into matchsticks. If you don't have a mandolin, just use a very sharp knife. Add cilantro, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and salt to veggies and toss well. Serve immediately or chilled.

Hugs!

Recipes currently inspiring me:

Black Rice Risotto with Mushrooms and Caramelized Onions at Holy Cow
Olive Oil Braised Spring Vegetables at 101 Cookbooks
Spinach Feta Muffins at Edible Garden