Radish and Rocket Spring Salad

With the weather warming up and the days getting longer, our dinner menu is changing from slow cooked Winter wonders to light Spring salads. It just so happens that the veggie garden is producing a bumper crop of rocket currently, a variety which Matt’s mum grows from it’s own seeds. It’s the best rocket I’ve ever grown, in fact the only one I’ve ever had much success with. Rocket is renowned for ‘rocketing’ to seed seemingly overnight, and other varieties bought as seedlings I’ve tried have been very broad leafed and utterly tasteless. “Might as well eat grass”. Thank you, husband… But this rocket variety which has succeeded is more like ‘store bought’ rocket, long and light and with a very peppery after taste. Just the way I like it. I’ve also had a bumper crop of radishes recently, in fact I left them in far too long really so was a bit worried they’d be tough and bitter. Surprisingly these were still light and sweet, although next harvest I will remember that radishes are quick to mature little things!

Rocket and radishes fresh from the garden, coupled with warm evenings and lazy dinners can only mean one thing: salad time…

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Radish and Rocket Spring Salad

Ingredients

A good few handfuls of rocket
2-3 radishes
Half a cucumber
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
Juice of 1 lime
2-3 chillies
3 gloves of garlic
Handful of pine nuts
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Thinly slice your radishes and cucumber, I sometimes like to peel shavings with a vegetable peeler, otherwise a sharp knife will do it. Also crush your garlic and chop your chillies finely, keep the seeds in or out depending on how you like the heat! The yogurt and cucumber will cool your dressing down a lot though.

Toast your pine nuts over medium heat, toss and pull them off the heat quickly, careful not to burn them.

Combine the yogurt, lime juice, chillies and garlic well, season with salt and pepper. Toss together the rocket, radish and pine nuts, add the dressing and serve with a cold beer at your next barbeque.

We just had a lamb butchered so this simple salad will be served with juicy lamb cutlets galore, for as long as my rocket and radish glut lasts from the garden (still a while yet).

Does your menu change much with the warmer weather?
Love some peppery rocket or has it all gone to seed?
Left your radishes in too long? Me too, me too…