Cathy Katin-Grazzini
Cathy's Kitchen Prescription LLC
www.cathyskitchenprescription.com
Blanched Sugar Snap Peas, San Hua, and Watermelon Radish Salad
Some vegetables are best when they’re scarcely cooked at all. That’s true with this delightful spring salad of sugar snap peas and san hua (Chinese flowering cauliflower, a.k.a. caulilini). This means of course that this dish takes no time to make. Thin crisp slices of gorgeous watermelon radish adds contrast with its striking magenta color and peppery pungency. Serve with silken tofu mayonnaise or soy yogurt ranch dressing and garnish with dill or fresh chives.
Prep time 10 minutes
Cook time 2 minutes
Serves 3 to 4
1 pound fresh sugar snap peas, strings removed if necessary
½ small head of san hua (Chinese flowering cauliflower), cut into bite-sized florets
1 medium watermelon radish, or small purple daikon radish, cut in 1/16” slices
A few sprigs of fresh dill, cut into fronds or chopped chives to garnish
Prepare your dressing of choice.
Soak the sugar snap peas for 5 minutes in cold water. Fill a medium large pot with water and bring to a rapid boil. Have a large bowl filled with ice water standing by. Add all the peas at once to the pot and blanch for 40 seconds to 1 minute. Use a sieve to transfer immediately from the pot to the ice water. Stir to cool them rapidly. The ice water bath will crisp up the sugar snaps and intensify their green color. When they are quite cool, use the sieve to scoop them out and drain. Set aside.
Repeat with the san hua florets, blanching them for 30 seconds. Transfer them immediately to an ice water bath to cool thoroughly. Drain the florets and set aside. Both the sugar snaps and san hua florets should be quite crispy but not taste raw.
Use a mandolin to slice the watermelon radish not paper thin but thin enough to easily chew, about 1/16”.
Artfully arrange the radish slices, sugar snap peas, and san hua florets on a platter or plate individually. Garnish with fresh dill fronds or chopped chives. Serve chilled or at room temperature and pass around your plant-based dressing of choice.
