Hearts of Palm, Chayote Squash, Radish Seed Pods salad

Hearts of Palm, Chayote Squash, Radish Seed Pods plus a few other vegetables come together for this summery salad served chilled, with Asian flavored dressing.

I threw some vegetables I had handy as I liked the combination, but, any favorite set of vegetables would work as well.

The salad tastes better when prepared a day ahead and allowed to rest in the fridge and develop flavors.

Ingredients
a jar of SunPix™ Hearts of Palm, cut into rings (use as much as preferred)
1 small chayote squash, peeled an diced
¼ cup water chestnuts (optional)
¼ cup radish seed pods (optional)
½ cup chopped baby corn
a handful of sugar snap peas
1 crisp fresh tomato, pulp removed if preferred, chopped
1 carrot cut into rounds
a handful of chopped bok choy
3 or 4 mint leaves, chopped finely for garnish
1 tsp lemon zest for garnish
1 Tbsp sesame oil

Asian Peanut Chili Dressing:
1 Tbsp peanut oil
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp sambal oelek
1 tsp ginger marmalade (or orange marmalade)
1 tsp grated ginger
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp unsweetened peanut butter

Preparation

1. Blanch the chayote squash in salted water, drain and keep handy
2. Blend the dressing ingredients and keep handy
3. Heat the peanut oil in a pan, saute the vegetables with a hint of salt, adding in the blanched chayote squash - all except the hearts of palm and tomatoes - for a few minutes and turn off heat; allow to cool completely
4. Toss in the tomatoes and hearts of palm with the sauteed veggies, drizzle some dressing, chill in the fridge for about 20-30 minutes; garnish as desired, drizzle more dressing as preferred and serve cold

Sauteed Watercress, Radish Greens and Radish Seed Pods

After saving some for next year's garden, I decided to use up the radish seed pods any which way I can. So, here's another impromptu recipe that turned out very satisfying.

Watercress is one of those greens that I never really grew to love raw. I mean, I like it in salads in trace amounts and they make nice garnish for some stews and such, but, that's about it. However, when lightly sautéed with a few other veggies, it turns quite addictive - mostly the texture and the added hint of flavors.

Ingredients

1 bunch watercress, roots trimmed and chopped stem and all
a bunch of radish greens (as much or as little as preferred)
1 carrot, cut into 1 inch sticks
1 or 2 broccoli stem, trimmed and cut into 1 inch sticks
½ cup radish seed pods
¼ cup chopped snow peas
1 Tbsp oil
salt, fresh ground pepper, and a pinch of ground turmeric and asafoetida (optional)
chopped spring onions for garnish

Preparation

1. Heat the oil in a pan, add the asafoetida and turmeric, allow to bloom for about 20 seconds, then add the watercress, carrots, broccoli stems, snow peas, some salt; cover and allow to cook over medium heat for about 4 or 5 minutes till watercress is wilted and the carrots and broccoli stems are cooked but not mushy
2. Serve warm with moong-dal rice: When I cook rice in the rice cooker, I add a handful of moong dal or toor dal as a boost for kids. 

Edible Radish Seed Pods Salad

Crunchy. Peppery. Fresh. Delicious. 

Radish fruit/siliqua or seed pods are bursting at this time in our garden and I am using them liberally in my cooking these days.

When we first started growing radish in our home garden, I was not sure what to expect. I love radish but more than that I relish the mildly bitter radish greens. The first time I laid eyes on the radish flowers - beautiful lilac and white ones - I was smitten.

And then, when we let it go to seed, the seed pods were a fantastic discovery.

Crisp spring greens topped with radish seed pods, some toasted unsalted pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds, and a drizzling of Pear Gorgonzola dressing makes a fantastic spring salad.