A radish salad and a picnic at the beach

by Béa

Les radis multicolores

When we woke up early on Friday with Lulu cuddled between us, the sun was already filtering through the bedroom blinds. A few robins were chirruping in the trees near our window and instantly, we knew that the day would be gorgeous. P. had the day off so we decided to go to the beach. And have a picnic.

Since our plan was rather spontaneous, I was thankful for my visit to the first farmer’s market the afternoon before.

I had come home with pretty colorful radishes, strawberries, purple spring onions and beautiful mesclun salad in my market basket. Enough to imagine a radish salad that would accompany a dish of warm black quinoa with asparagus sauce that takes only minutes to prepare.

“On va à la plage,” we told Lulu while we were having a plate of vanilla-flavored millet waffles at the breakfast table. Her face immediately lit with a large smile.

“Vacances !” she shouted out loud.

We laughed. Of course. Our small excursion sounded like a vacation indeed.

And so with the help from my Lulu, I prepared our picnic lunch.

It was a beautiful and easy day.

The bushes lining the sand dunes displayed pretty flowers that looked like colorful pieces of candy. I could smell the vibes of summer without the crowds and the August heat.

As expected, Lulu had a lot of fun. Seeing her run and skip on the beach, laughing heartily, was the best gift we could have hoped for that day.

“Tu as faim ?” (Are you hungry?) I asked her shortly after her first dip in the water.

“Oui,” she replied instantly.

The three of us sat on the edge of the blanket with our feet dug into the sand. And we started to eat. Quietly. Undisturbed by the seagulls curious about our food.

The way Lulu was letting me feed her quinoa showed that indeed, she must have been hungry.

P. and I enjoyed the balance of texture and spicy taste the radish salad brought to our meal. I had also packed a strawberry salad and apricots, and was glad to find rhubarb muffins in the freezer that I wrapped and tossed in our picnic bag too.

By three o’clock, we decided to leave because, on the way back, we wanted to make a stop at a farm nearby to pick strawberries.

“We start tomorrow,” the tall solidly-built young girl standing at the cashier said when I asked her whether we could pick the fruit.

“But you can buy strawberries we’ve already picked, if you want. And you can go and see the animals at the back of the farm.”

So I bought two large containers of strawberries. One for us to enjoy. The other to go inside a dessert I was planning to make and bring to a friends’ garden party the next day.

Les fraises de la ferme

And then we walked outside to see chicken and geese; ducks and goats; sheep and ponys.

“On reviendra la semaine prochaine,” (We will come back next week) I told Lulu as we were walking back to the car. She was holding her papa by one hand, with a warm doughnut I bought for her at the farm stand in the other.

“These are good!” P. exclaimed after biting into one too. “So nice that I think I want a second one!”

I looked at them and smiled. Munching each on a doughnut, they really made a happy-looking pair.

“I am sure she is going to sleep in the car after all of this, ” I laughed.

It didn’t fail. Back inside the car, within minutes on the road, Lulu was fast asleep, assuring us that she liked the beach, when we asked her if she had had fun.

Radish salad with apple, avocado, egg and shaved Manchego

Radish salad with apple, avocado, egg and shaved Manchego


(For 4 people)

    For the salad:

  • 2 cups mixed mesclun salad
  • 2 bunches of colored radishes, diced
  • 2 hard boiled eggs, shelled and crumbled finely with a fork
  • 1 red apple (like Gala or Honey-crisp), cored and diced
  • 1 avocado, diced and drizzled with lime or lemon juice
  • Shaved Manchego cheese, to taste

    For the dressing:

  • Sea salt and pepper
  • 1.5 teaspoons honey-flavored mustard
  • 1.5 teaspoons honey
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1.5 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1.5 tablespoons pistachio oil
  • 1 spring onion, chopped
  • 1.5 tablespoons chopped parsley, dill and chives


Steps:

  • To make the dressing: In a bowl, combine the ingredients in this order: sea salt and pepper, honey mustard and honey. Whisk in the vinegar and garlic, and finish with the two oils. Emulsify and stir in the spring onion and herbs; set aside.
  • In a large bowl, combine the mesclun greens, radish, egg, apple, avocado. Add the dressing and toss. Toss in shaved Manchego cheese and serve.

    • 54 comments

    2. What a beautiful day for your family. The photos of the ducks are adorable. The beach scenes are gorgeous. Your simple salad looks like our lunch quite often!

    3. you are so brilliant with fresh veggies. this is what i need to learn to do. the salad looks so good and fresh.

    4. This sounds like the perfect Spring salad! I love how there is so many flavor cross overs, sweet, spicy, creamy! I’ll be making this soon, yum!

    5. Bea, the photography is so beautiful. And the salad recipe is perfect for summer and spring and warmer weather.

      So glad you and your family are enjoying yourselves. I love the pic of your hubs and little one b/c they look so happy and adorable 🙂

    6. I have both radishes and strawberries in this week’s CSA box, so I’m very happy to read this post. I looked through the recipe index to find the strawberry dessert but came up short. From where I’m sitting, it looks like a strawberry clafoutis…hmm…

    7. I love the colors and the story also ! Tes billets respirent toujours la joie de vivre ! Bonne journée à toi et à ta petite famille :))

    9. woooo la plage avait l’air bien déserte !! je me régale de radis aussi en ce moment, coupés en petites tranches fines, ça passe mieux pour les enfants. ps : tu as peut-être voulu écrire “as expected” au lieu de “as excepted” ? bizzz

    12. radishes are often overlooked but aside from being so pretty, they are good to eat. What a nice and special family day and to end with donuts is perfect.

    15. It looks delicious. And your surroundings so beautiful. We have a little tradition here of the little ones planting and growing their own radishes… and then eating them too ofcourse, straight out of the garden. It’s lovely.

    16. lovely pictures for a lovely friday!
      Je viens d’acheter des fraises… si j’avais la recette du dessert je le tenterais bien… mais elles auront disparu bien avant à mon avis! 😉

    17. Bonjour,
      Je vous féliciter pour votre blog, il s’agit de l’un de mes préférés.
      Puis-je savoir d’où provient votre sac de la deuxième photo, les couleurs sont magnifiques.

    18. So lovely!!!! And I MUST try the salad. Regards, ~rose

    21. I LOVE this salad, tomorrow’s lunch, for sure! Yes, a ride in the car would always lull our son to sleep. Great photos, I really like the black and whites.

    22. Lovely post Bea. Quiet times like this with the family are very special. Enjoy Lulu especially now when you are both her world.

    23. Hi!
      Here’s a Spanish admirer writing.. I really like your blog. Food in Spain is very important. We LIKE to eat. And..I have a passion for beautiful pictures and lovely colours. Like the ones in your photographs. They are really inspiring!

      This brings me to ask you..would you mind me “pinning” some of your pictures in pinterest.com ? I’m totally new there, but I’d always wished I could have some place to store photographs I find on the Internet and inspire me without having to print them.. Of course, I’d write where I found them!
      I’d totally understand if you didn’t like the idea, that’s why I’m asking.

      Thank-you for your lovely, simple and happy posts. 🙂

      oh! And you should prepare some Gazpacho for the summer. Easy, colorful, healthy and..delicious!

    24. I would not want to chose what I like better about this post: the gorgeous food images, the landscapes, the recipe, the lovely images with your little one. A magnifent potpourri of love and wonder! Merci 🙂

    25. Wonderful idea. All the right ingredients and elements come together for a perfect day. Hopefully, the nice weather comes back très bientôt in New Englans! 🙁

      David from Frenchie and the Yankee

    26. Thank you everyone! Lovely to read you.

      Amanda, lovely pictures. It looks like you had a lovely time too!

      Marina, funny you should talk about gazpacho. We had friends for lunch yesterday and I made gazpacho to start our meal! 🙂

    27. I LOVE radishes – been getting so many the last few weeks in our CSA. Can’t get enough – lovely pictures you put up!

    28. Your pictures are truly inspiring; I can’t help but want to make your food every time you post something new. Thank you for the inspiration!

    30. It’s been years in the making, but I’ve dedicated this summer to being my year of the radish, aka, the year I overcome my dislike of radishes. It’s a work in progress, but progress has definitely been made.

      And I’m so glad, as radishes are a lovely, colorful aspect of many of your posts; posts which I can now appreciate a bit more!

    31. Béa . . . you make a trip to the beach sound like a grand holiday. Your pictures always make me happy

    34. ca a l’air adorablement bon tout ce déploiement de belles couleurs. j’adore vos photos en noir et blanc sur la plage. magnifiques..

    37. Your site, your photos, your whole world seems so bright and clean and delicious! It’s like looking into a dream world!

    38. I absolutely love the family photos integrated into the post, it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside.

    41. Made this last night for my dad’s birthday, with grilled Copper River salmon. It was incredible. Thank you!

    43. Do I spot a picture of strawberries with yogurt? You’re missing some nuts, some blueberries, granola, and a dash of honey. Otherwise, it’s perfect! By the way, the radishes look amazing.

    45. Pingback: Continuing the theme… « GuFf

    47. i like so much…. the way you tell your details nice,lovely photos you chose for the pics of the farm keep on and please send us as much as you can of the recipes cause we all adore the recipes of the french desserts thanks

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    50. It’s 30 degrees Celsius in Brisbane, Australia and a storm is brewing. I’ve just made your beautiful salad, paired with some lamb cutlets. It was superb. Crunch, creamy and full of flavor. Perfect for a summers night! Thankyou

    51. Pingback: Ramp, carrot, and chicken mini quiche recipe | La Tartine Gourmande

    52. Your radish salad reminded me of when I was a young girl and my grandfather used to take me to his garden, where he grew radishes and all kinds of Mediterrenean vegetables, to pick fresh radishes for his salad with radishes, of course, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, rocket, olive oil and vinegar. Your salad was like Proust’s “madeleine” to me. Thank you for having me think of my grandfather today and my childhood memories

    53. I have just discovered your award-winning blog, and your La Tartine Gourmande Cookbook.

      Please add me to your list of people who support your platform
      I love everything you do.

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