Monday, January 3, 2011

Russian Radish Salad

Sorry the pic is a bit fuzzy- unfortunately I can't find
 the charger for the batteries for my other camera.
My family has Russian roots; there were numerous family jokes about how the only "green vegetable" in Mother Russia was the potato. This recipe reminds me of the fact that Russia can be so cold that not many vegetables grow there. This cucumber and radish salad is made with some of the only vegetables hardy enough to grow in that cold clime. I make it fairly frequently throughout the winter and it gets inhaled!
I recently brought this dish to a get together of friends and it was polished off, down to the last drop, even by people who generally don't care for radishes. There's no spiciness left once it finishes marinating.

Russian Radish Salad


Ingredients
Radishes
Cucumbers
Mayonnaise (ideally homemade)
Salt
Sugar
Lemon juice

Instructions
1. Chop up the radishes into thin slices. If, like myself, you use radishes the size of baseball bats, cut these radish slices into small squares approximately 1 inch square.
2. Cut cucumbers into quarters lengthwise. Chop into small pieces.
3. Mix cucumbers with the radishes. I usually try to have half radish, half cucumber, but you can change the proportions to suit your tastes or what you have available.
4. Add mayo. I usually add 1-2 heaping tablespoons for each baseball sized radish and 2 Kirby sized cucumbers.
5. Add sugar, salt, and lemon to taste. I usually add 1-2 teaspoons of each.
6. Mix well, and let marinate for at least 20 minutes. If you eat it right away, it'll be quite sharp. By the time it finishes marinating, the dressing will have become quite runny.
7. Inhale!

This salad keeps very well... if you can get it to last long enough!

P.S. I find I go to Russian and other Eastern European recipes during the colder months of the year. Traditional recipes from that region contain the cold weather seasonal vegetables which are all that would grow in that region...

This recipe is recipe number two in my Radish Recipe Parade. Tune in tomorrow for the next post in the parade.

So, anyone else here with Russian roots? Anyone else have family jokes about Russia's vegetable scarcity? What's your favorite Russian recipe?
Have you ever had a salad like this before? Do you think you'd be willing to try?

1 comment:

  1. Great...thanx

    Try also grating a carrot and throwing in some dill. Makes it colorful and sweeter.

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