A combination of spicy arugula, peppery watermelon radish and sweet carrots and beets create a medley of flavors on the palate and an edible work of art on a plate. It looks like some fancy dish you might get in a high end restaurant, but this salad is so easy even a 6 year old can do it. In fact, five 6 year olds did in this week's cooking class, and not only did they love the spiral slicer--they ate every bite of this colorful confetti salad!
The Secret: How did we get those big beautiful radish curls? The Saladacco Spiral Slicer! You can find this tool at Sur la Table or online for around $30. It is completely safe for children to use (with adult supervision) since there are no exposed blades. In addition to large 'curls' the Spiral Slicer comes with a small attachment blade that also makes angel hair-like 'noodles' out of your favorite vegetables. http://www.cooking.com/images/products/shprodde/170127.jpg
Don't have a Spiral Slicer? See tips on creative culinary techniques that use basic kitchen tools below.
Ingredients
3 cups arugula, washed and dried
1 red beet, washed and root ‘hairs’ trimmed
1 gold beet, washed and root ‘hairs’ trimmed
1 watermelon radish (or other radish), washed
1 medium carrot, washed and peeled
Using the Spiral Slicer, ‘spiralize’ each vegetable following the directions on the box. Set aside each vegetable as you go. Red and gold beets are more tender and taste sweeter when using the smallest spiral setting that is used to make thin ‘noodle-like’ spirals. It also adds a nice contrast in the salad.
This dish looks best as an arranged salad with each ingredient placed strategically on the plate. As the chef, you have creative license to arrange the ingredients as you like! You can either toss each ingredient in the vinaigrette first or you can drizzle the dressing after arranging the salad on the plate.
I started off with a small handful of arugula on the plate as the salad base and carefully arranged the radish and carrot curls on top. I like to create salads that have a bit of height and the large curls are great for doing just that. After arranging the radish and carrots, you can use your fingers or a fork to arrange the red and gold beet noodles throughout the salad like confetti. Because of it’s color and flair, this salad is an impressive starter for a dinner party and because it is so easy to make it’s a great way to spoil yourself to a fancy salad mid-week!
You can also try ‘sprializing’ these vegetables and fruits to create other fun salad ingredients: Zucchini, purple carrots, apples (tossed with lemon juice to prevent oxidation), fennel bulb, cucumbers, and onions.
Don't have a spiralizer? You can use other kitchen gadgets to create different shapes. Try using the different sides of a cheese grater for grated vegetables. A vegetable peeler is a great tool for creating easy curls. A cheese slicer is also great for slicing up certain vegetables like zucchini and cucumber. Once you have thin slices, stack them up and make thin matchstick size cuts for beautiful julienned vegetables!
Citrus Vinaigrette
Ingredients
2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
2 Tbs fresh blood orange juice (or fresh orange or tangerine juice)
2 Tbs Champagne vinegar
1 shallot, minced
¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Combine first 4 ingredients in a bowl; whisk in olive oil until dressing emulsifies. Stir in zests. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss with salad or drizzle on salad plates and serve!
Serves 6
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