Snow Pea Radish Salad with Crispy Capers
This fresh snow pea salad is full of crisp spring vegetables, with buttercrunch lettuce, thinly sliced radishes, creamy feta and salty crispy capers. It’s tossed with a sweet and tangy honey dressing and finished with fresh mint.
About this snow pea salad
It’s a simple salad, but there’s a good mix of textures and flavours in it. The snow peas are sweet and crunchy, the radishes bring a little peppery bite, and frying the capers makes them crisp and delicious. Snow peas are so great to use in salads. They’re naturally sweet and have such a good crunch. I’ve paired them with soft buttercrunch lettuce and peppery radishes. Feta adds some creaminess and saltiness, while the crispy capers are probably my favourite part. They puff up slightly as they fry and become crisp around the edges.
The dressing has honey for sweetness, Dijon mustard and just enough lemon for acidity.
Ingredients
Here are the main ingredients you’ll need.
- Snow peas. You’ll need 100 g. Raw and sliced thinly on an angle so they’re easy to eat while keeping their crunch.
- Buttercrunch lettuce. The soft leaves are a nice contrast to all the crisp vegetables. Tear any larger leaves into smaller pieces.
- Radishes. Thinly sliced radishes add colour, crunch and a gentle peppery flavour.
- Feta. Creamy, salty feta works really well with the sweet snow peas and radishes. You don’t need too much because the capers also bring plenty of saltiness.
- Capers. These are fried in olive oil until they open up and become crisp. Make sure to dry them really well before frying.
- Mint. Just a small handful for freshness. I like to tear the leaves rather than finely chop them.
- Honey. This gives the dressing a little sweetness and balances the salty feta and capers.
- Dijon mustard. Adds a little sharpness and helps bring the dressing together.
- Lemon. Just enough to brighten the dressing without making it super lemony.
How to make it
- Trim the snow peas and slice them thinly on an angle.
- Thinly slice the radishes and tear the buttercrunch leaves into bite-sized pieces.
- Fry the capers in olive oil for a few minutes until they’ve opened up and become crisp around the edges.
- In a jar with a lid, shake together the olive oil, lemon juice, honey and Dijon mustard freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste.
- Gently toss the lettuce, snow peas and radishes with enough dressing to lightly coat them. Transfer to a serving platter and finish with crumbled feta, fresh mint and plenty of crispy capers.
Notes and variations
- Make sure the capers are well dried before adding them to the hot oil. This helps them crisp up and reduces splattering.
- Slice the snow peas on a sharp diagonal. This gives you bigger pieces while still making them easy to eat.
- Don’t add too much salt to the dressing before tasting the finished salad. The feta and capers provides a bit on their own.
- Flat-leaf parsley can be used with or instead of the mint if you like.
Storage
This salad is best eaten soon after it’s assembled, while the lettuce is crisp and the capers are crunchy.
If you’re preparing it ahead, slice the vegetables and make the dressing separately. Fry the capers and keep them in an airtight container once completely cool. Toss everything together just before serving.
Related recipes
Snow Pea and Radish Salad with Crispy Capers
Ingredients
- 100 g snow peas
- 1 small buttercrunch lettuce
- 6-8 radishes
- 60 g feta crumbly
- 2 tbsp capers drained
- fresh mint leaves small handful
- 2 tbsp olive oil for frying
Honey Lemon Dressing
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 45 ml
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice 30 ml
- 2 tsp honey
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
- freshly ground black pepper
- salt if needed
Instructions
- Trim the snow peas and slice them thinly on a diagonal. Thinly slice the radishes. Separate the buttercrunch leaves and tear any large ones into pieces.
- Pat the capers very dry with paper towels. Heat the 2 tablespoons olive oil in a small frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the capers and fry for 2 to 3 minutes, until they open up and become crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
- Whisk together the extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, honey, Dijon mustard and lemon zest (or shake it in a jar with a lid). Add plenty of black pepper. Taste before adding salt because the feta and capers will provide plenty of seasoning.
- Add the buttercrunch, snow peas and radishes to a large bowl. Drizzle with about two-thirds of the dressing and gently toss.
- Transfer to a platter. Crumble over the feta, then scatter over the crispy capers and a few torn mint leaves. Finish with the remaining dressing as needed and serve straight away.
