Essential in the enjoyment
Friday, January 7, 2011 at 11:06AM 
It's the new year. We're one week in and I'm still getting my footing. The bang of fireworks at midnight seven days ago acted as my starter's pistol - the get-go for the clipping pace the days have taken.
I don't know if I can still wish you a happy year, there must be an expiry date on the phrase, just as I don't know if I should be this bouncy over a January salad.
But I am. Smitten with radishes and celery and apple. And I do wish you grand times ahead.
What started me on salads was when we slipped away to Montreal way back in November - even though their first snow had fallen and our cheeks were rusty with the bite of a sharp wind, leafy, green and perky salads were often the unexpected boon at mealtimes. Some peppery, some mild, with shaved fennel and Grana Padano, or a humble jumble of tiny greens in a film of dressing with pickled shallot. In the morning, served with our eggs, there were last September's tomatoes dried and preserved in oil.
The last night was one where the sidewalks were slick with ice and I (firmly) held a gentlemanly arm to maintain my footing. Finally tucked into the warm restaurant, I was playing that game where you scout the menu by taking inventory of the plates of others when I saw a salad - a tangle of mixed cabbages and carrot, nothing more than a coleslaw really - and it was, somehow, exactly what I wanted.
It made sense, really, that in the winter we need some crunch to enliven both our palate and spirits. It is no news that I am a fan of comfort food; braises and slow roasts are often my favourite meals. Against those rich, unctuous gravies and stews a salad brings all that the dish is not - the piquancy of vinegar and punch of freshness resets the taste buds and brightens the meal through contrast. Each becomes essential in the enjoyment of the other.
And while we might not think of it, cold winters, those bitterly frosty days, are dry. Skin is chapped, lips are chapped, hair is flyaway and frizzy. I find myself, a person not usually one to keep a carafe by the bed, stumbling awkwardly and squintingly into the kitchen to gulp down glasses of water in the morning. A salad gives a meal an aspect of watery crunch, which is to say it refreshes without the stumbling and the stubbed toes.
The salad we have here is a more recent entry into our canon, inspired by the collected lessons of our trip. I'll offer it up in terms as one should offer to a friend, without quantities or much by way of specification. The salad is best because of its combination. There is a balance of the different sorts of crispness between the supple celery and the assertive radish; the apple falls between the two.
My only true instruction is to slice everything, save the parsley of course, as thinly as you can muster. Shaved wafer thin is where I'd aim, as the textures and flavours seem at their best as such, with it all coming off as ravishingly addicting. Wet, but not sodden, and that sounds funny I know.
With baguette and butter it makes for an ideal lunch, only gaining in appeal when eaten indoors, at the table, by the window, with a snowy landscape on the other side.
Radish, Celery and Apple Salad
Ingredients
A bunch of radishes, sliced thin
An apple, something crisp and sweet, sliced thin
A stalk of celery, sliced thin
A generous handful of flat-leafed parsley, stems removed
Juice from half a lemon
Mild honey
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper
In a medium bowl, toss together the radishes, apple, celery and parsley. Squeeze over a bit of lemon juice, a fine drizzle of honey, and a larger splash of olive oil. Toss gently, so that everything is well coated, then add a sprinkle of sea salt and a good grind of pepper. Toss again and taste for seasoning.
Serves 2, I'd say.
Reader Comments (28)
Baguette, butter and this salad will make me a happy girl on a snowy winters day. Happy new year Tara! Never too late to wish tho I too wonder is it ever too late. Sweet apples, savoury radish with a crack of black pepper & honey is the perfect combination. Fab start to the new year!
yum! looks delicious.
Beautiful musings. Amidst meals filled with potatoes, braised meats, and other hearty fare, salads are exactly what I've been craving recently, too.
YES.
I tried hard to find frisee last night. All I wanted was a mustardy-vinaigrette atop prickly greens, a few beets roasted, maybe a shaving or 20 of Beemster. Some toasted nuts. Mm.
But I couldn't find anything I needed.
One of these days I feel I'll be sure to love radishes, besides just seeing how pretty they are. Maybe they'll taste less like dirt to me (though my husband says that's what he loves about them), but I'd love to give this salad a try. And use my mandoline too! Happy New Year sweet Tara!
this looks so delish and refreshing tara! just the thing after all that rich holiday indulgence!
Oh yum, I can imagine the crisp, refreshing bites on my tongue. I, too, am obsessed with radishes, especially radishes sprinkled with sea salt and layered with very good butter on very good bread, a Molly Wizenburg snack I've adopted firmly in our house.
Happy New Year to you, Tara!
perfect. perfect.
expanding this and bringing it to share tonight across the snowy park to go with latkes. perfect, no?
xoxo
I love winter salads. Nice combination of ingredients. I had a salad recently with apple, radish, watermelon radish, greens, a local blue cheese and walnuts. Delightful.
Thanks for the inspiration.
Oh, the timing. We ad hoc'd this salad's distant cousin tonight, and I fell fast and hard for it's cold crisp damp crunch. The apples and radishes -- thin thin, indeed -- they were there. But also, raddichio and sunflower seeds and a miso-kissed dressing. I am already scheming a store trip tomorrow, just to re-stock these (now) winter salad essentials.
A very happy new year to you and yours, Tara. No expiry, in my book.
beautiful....im going to have that NOW...since i have all of those ingredients!
Happy New Year! I've tried something similar with jicama or daikon, too - when radishes aren't available :)
You are so right - we need some crunch to enliven the dark winter days. I am a huge radish fan. Yum!
I dont think it is ever too late to wish a Happy New Year. What a light and delicious salad
So lovely. Thanks for the reminder that salads (especially the jumbled kind) are often exactly what I want. Along with another trip to Montreal.
This does look quite refreshing. I often still eat salads in the colder months to break up the heaviness of the meats and creams I'm eating for dinner!
simply beautiful! something about crunchy, fresh salads and smooth ice cream just scream WINTER FOODS to me.
That salad looks absolutely heartwarming on a cold day! And the thin sliced apples, radishes and celery, I can just taste their crunchy goodness - Yum!! Happy New Year!
Happy New Year Tara!
The pictures are as stunning as ever and you are absolutely right. The dry air and the heavy dishes demand lighter fair.
Yum...from Yucatan, Mexico this salad looks delicious and refreshing. I am crafting away some ideas for something to play with jicama and radishes in the next few days. Mmm...hmmm
This looks like it will brighten up any dark winter day. How fresh and unique!
I know I have been reading your site for a long time and I know I have commented gushingly on many a post, but I don't know that I have ever told you what a gift you are. Your musings, your whimsical photos, and your mouthwatering recipes are something I look forward to all week.
The more savory and "roasty" a dinner I make, the more crunchy and vinegar-y I want the salad to be. I think this would be lovely with everything from a veg pot pie to a big old pan of enchiladas. I don't use radishes enough. Thanks for the reminder. And happy new year to you again.
What a Beautiful Blog!! glad i found it.
I love the look of this salad. I am working on an organic birthday party theme, and this just embodies the look and feel I am going for. Thanks for the inspiration.
nice recipes, thank you ;)