My husband doesn’t eat mayonnaise. He’s lucky. Mac salad holds zero –no, less than zero–interest for him. But I’m not going without. When it comes to summer barbecues, I usually end up making a couple of salads. Mac salad for me, and something else for him. After seeing a couple of Instagram friends post pix of radishes early in the weekend, I dug up an oldie but goodie from the Seattle Times — Mac’s More Rockin’ Radish Salad. Virtually guaranteed to please even the radish naysayers.
It’s late in the season for citrus, so I picked up a couple of cara cara’s instead of the usual navel oranges, and busted out my handy dandy mini mandoline. It’s a little handheld slicer I picked up years ago. If you’re just so-so at cutting super thin slices with a knife, It’s perfect for thinly slicing radishes for this salad. I use it for cucumber salads, too. It’s sharp, but less scary than using a standard mandoline. Amazon carries them, or if you’ve got a Japanese dollar store, like Daiso or Ichiban Kan in your area, they might have it, too.
I’ve made a few tweaks in the recipe below. If you can, use a good apple cider vinegar for this salad. I like O Olive Oil’s Honey Apple Cider Vinegar. It has just a hint of sweetness with a clean, round tang.
If you change your mind about radishes, here’s another good one with carrot, cucumber and radish from Molly Wisenberg, aka @Mollyorangette on Instagram. Seattleites know their radishes!
Adapted from Mac's More Rockin' Radish Salad, this one is virtually guaranteed to please even the radish naysayers.
In a large bowl, gently toss together radishes, cucumber, orange and mint. Add the olive oil and toss again to coat. Add the vinegar and salt and toss again. Finally, drizzle the thinned honey over the salad and give it a final toss. Season with black pepper.
Adapted from Nancy Leson's More Rockin' Radish Salad recipe in the Seattle Times, this radish salad is truly one for those who think they don't even LIKE radishes! Although the original calls for it to be served immediately, it does just fine for about 30 mins in the fridge.