Snow Pea & Radish Salad

When I lived up north and had a big vegetable garden, it was a miracle if the snow peas made it into the house.

Same for the sugar snap peas. I’d stand out in the garden and eat them right off the vines.

Even snow peas from the store shine in this simple and easy salad.

Crisp and clean with just a bit of kick from our friends the radishes.

Here’s what you need:

Snow Peas, Radishes, Green Onion, Walnut Oil (or olive oil), White Wine Vinegar, Sugar, Salt & Pepper.

Click here for a Snow Pea & Radish Salad Shopping List

In a perfect world, we would take the time to trim and pull the sting off each and every snow pea.

If the peas weren’t super fresh and tender or if my mom was coming over for dinner, I certainly would take the time to remove the little string. However, I don’t have a problem with the little pea string so I just let that step slide.

Give one of your raw peas a quick bite and you’ll quickly discover if you need to take the string off the side or not.

Put 2 cups (8 ounces) of snap peas in a microwave safe dish with about 1 Tablespoon of water. Cover and microwave for only 1 minute.

Immediately plunge the peas into a bowl of ice water to shock them and stop the cooking. This will ensure that your peas stay crisp and super green.

Of course, you could also steam or par boil the peas but the microwave is a pretty quick and easy way to go.

While your peas cool, thinly slice 1 green onion and 4-5 small radishes.

Drain the snap peas and blot them dry with a towel.

Cut the peas in half on on an angle so they are bite sized.

If you have any stem ends that bug you, cut them off too.

The original recipe had you cut the peas into little triangles. That lasted all of about 30 seconds with me. Cutting them in half is just fine.

Our dressing is a very simple vinaigrette made special with toasted walnut oil. If you only have olive oil, that would be fine too but I love having walnut oil for salad dressings.

In a small bowl, combine 1 Tablespoon walnut oil, 2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar, and 2 teaspoons sugar.

I tried leaving the sugar out but the dressing is really much more balanced with the sugar.

Season with salt & pepper to taste and whisk to combine.

Note:  Walnut oil is a much stronger flavor than olive oil so I use only 1 Tablespoon. If you’re using olive oil, feel free to add just a bit more.

Pour the dressing over the snow peas, green onions, and radishes and toss to combine.

I like my salads fairly lightly dressed so I only used about 1/2 of the dressing. You can save the rest for any other green salad or toss it all in there if you like more dressing.

Give the salad a quick taste and adjust the seasonings of salt, pepper, and vinegar.

I loved this fresh & snappy salad. I usually only think of snow peas in stir fries or as a quick steamed side dish so having them cold in a salad was a nice change.

I served Snow Pea & Radish Salad with my quick Sweet Chili Glazed Salmon and loved the combination of flavors.

Here’s the recipe:  Adapted from Ellie Krieger

Snow Pea & Radish Salad