Green salads are a great destination for “instant” pickles — especially pickled radishes since they look so pretty with the green. The pickling — really a dousing of lemon juice, salt, and sugar — takes no time. (Find more on instant pickles here.) In this salad, I combine baby kale (or arugula) with avocado, blue cheese, pecans, and honey for salty, creamy, and sweet counterpoints to the bright greens and radishes.
Serves 4
- 6 large fresh radishes (3 ounces), tops and tails removed, very thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- Kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 cups (loosely packed, about 2 1/2 ounces) baby kale leaves or arugula (or a combination)
- 2 to 3 tablespoons finely chopped toasted pecans
- 1 large firm-ripe avocado, pitted, peeled, and diced or sliced
- 1/3 cup (about 1 ½ ounces; use more to taste) good quality blue cheese, like Great Hill Blue, crumbled
- Local honey for drizzling
1. Have four salad plates at the ready.
2. Put the sliced radishes in a small nonreactive bowl and add 2 teaspoons of the lemon juice, the sugar, and a big pinch of kosher salt. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes and toss occasionally.
3. Whisk together the remaining 2 teaspoons lemon juice with the olive oil and a generous pinch of salt. Toss the kale or arugula with 1 tablespoon of the lemon-olive oil dressing and a pinch of salt. (Taste and add a bit more dressing if it needs it.) Toss the avocado (separately) with about 2 teaspoons of the dressing and a pinch of salt.
4. Divide the greens evenly among the four plates, mounding them slightly in the center. Tuck the avocado slices around or among the kale leaves, and do the same with the radish slices (you may have a few extra radishes). Sprinkle the blue cheese and the pecans over all, and drizzle each salad with honey. Serve right away.
