My, you look radishing
Flat beans and cannellini beans combine in this colourful roasted radish salad, which is tied together with a flavourful fresh oregano dressing. Serve alone or with fish.
At some point last summer I started roasting radishes, and I haven’t stopped since. Raw radishes are of course great, their peppery tang and crunch lend themselves well to many a summer salad or a pot of salted butter, but roasting transforms them into something quite extraordinary. The peppery tang and crunch is replaced with a sweet softness that can justifiably compete with any other traditionally roasted root. They loose a lot of their water when roasted, so don’t be afraid to use a whole lot more in your recipe that you usually would.
This roasted radish salad recipe was entirely inspired by the huge bunch of homegrown oregano my neighbour gave me last week. Given that my attempts at home grown herbs resemble, well, not much, I received and embraced the oregano with open arms. A long time ago I made a delicious oregano pesto, and for this dish I settled instead of an oregano dressing to go with some other seasonal veg I had lying around. This included flat stringless beans (often called Helda beans) from my veg bag and the radishes which I will be honest and tell you I had bought even though my fridge was already full because they matched the pink plate I had also just purchased. Oh my god.
To make the roasted radish salad a little more substantial I added some cannellini beans for a fibre and protein boost, though did also think about a grain like quinoa too. The salad can stand alone alongside other salad platters (as it did on a yoga retreat last weekend), or be served with a fillet of fish like sea bass for a delicious supper.
What would you do with a glut of oregano? Here are some other ideas; Greek-style Panzanella by Food to Glow, Oregano Oil by Supper in the Suburbs or you could also add it to a cooked dish like Tin and Thyme did in this Veggie Bean Chilli.
- 135g breakfast radishes, top and tailed and sliced in half
- 130g flat green beans, top and tailed and cut on the diagonal into 3 cm pieces
- 1 x 400g carton / can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
- extra-virgin olive oil
- salt
- 10g fresh oregano leaves, picked off of the tough stalks
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 small shallot, minced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- pinch salt and pepper
- Pre-heat oven to 180C.
- Toss radishes in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a ¼ tsp of flakey salt and roast in oven for 25-30 minutes until browned. They go slightly translucent when roasted and will shrink considerably.
- Steam / blanch the beans for 3 minutes then refresh in ice-cold water or in an ice bowl till cold, drain well.
- Place all of the dressing ingredients into a blender and blitz until the oil and vinegar emulsifies and the shallots, garlic and oregano is broken down but still retains some texture, you don't want a green paste. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Toss the roasted radishes and cooked beans with the cannellini beans and stir through enough dressing to coat. Transfer to a serving plate and drizzle with more dressing and scatter over some toasted pine nuts.
Not a leaf in sight! Definitely my kind of salad. Beautiful photos and styling too!
Haha, I strongly believe salads don’t have to be leafy. A salad is basically just cold vegetables. Thank you!
Oh my word – why have I never thought to roast radishes?! This looks and sounds so tasty, oregano is such a fabulous herb, I’m definitely going to fire up my oven later for those radishes!
Its a game changer! Hope you enjoy them and thanks Chris!
I was wondering about roast radishes the other day and trying to figure out what they might taste like. You’ve inspired me to give them a go now. Oregano is one of my favourite herbs, but sadly not one I manage to grow very well. Marjoram is easy and grows like a week, but the elusive oregano ….! Your salad sounds delicious and fresh herb dressings are the best. Hooray for Froothie blenders I say!
Hope you enjoy them Choclette, its a taste I didn’t really expect to discover! Well I can’t grow anything in my flat so well done for triumphing with Marjoram. Its a lovely herb too!
How many foods have I bought to match new dishes, hmmm? 😉 Guilty of that one. I have roasted radishes a few times but had forgotten about that sweet little trick until I read your post. I will get back on it now as I have some lovely French breakfast ones languishing in the fridge. And try it with your delicious oregano dressing. Now, must go and get out my vintage pink glass plate….
Ha ha, so glad its not just be. To be honest I think it comes with the food blogger territory. And why not! Hope you enjoy those breakfast radishes served on your pink plate 🙂
I adore roasted radishes and the dressing sounds amazing with them!
What a stunning fresh meal! I’m equally rubbish with homegrown herbs, so you’re lucky your neighbour gave you lots of oregano. 🙂
Why is it so hard eh? I think the sun and wind and rain all need to be doing the right things for a start! 🙂
That really looks so appealing, especially on this gloriously hot and sunny day. I like the smoothness of blended dressings, so this one really appeals to me.
Thanks Kavey! I need to get my hands on some more Oregano soon!
I love the idea of roasted radishes, so clever. I’m definitely going to try this.
thanks Janice – it really changes their flavour, in a good way. I hope you enjoy them !
This looks so fresh and delicious Ceri – kind of the wrong season now but I’d love to try this!
Thanks Mandy! Yes keep it saved till the spring 😉