Crunchy Apple Salad with Radish and Feta

Name: Crunchy Apple Salad with Radish and Feta
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: PTM
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Healthy, Salads & Dressings
Ingredients: large apples, cored and cut into bite-sized chunks; medium radishes, quartered and thinly sliced; shallots, halved and thinly sliced; tablespoons red wine vinegar; teaspoon kosher salt; tablespoons vegetable or nut oil; zest from 1 lime; tablespoons lime juice; teaspoons honey; bird’s eye pepper, seeded and finely diced; teaspoon kosher salt; sprinkle black pepper; cup crumbled feta cheese; cup chopped fresh herbs, like flat-leaf parsley, dill or cilantro

Ingredients

3 large apples, cored and cut into bite-sized chunks
6 medium radishes, quartered and thinly sliced
2 shallots, halved and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
For the vinaigrette:
2 tablespoons vegetable or nut oil
zest from 1 lime
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 teaspoons honey
1 bird’s eye pepper, seeded and finely diced
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
sprinkle black pepper
⅓ cup crumbled feta cheese
¼ cup chopped fresh herbs, like flat-leaf parsley, dill or cilantro

Takes 15 Minutes, serves 6.

Instructions

Pickle shallots: Place shallots in a small bowl. Sprinkle with salt then add red wine vinegar. Stir to combine. Leave shallots to pickle for 15 minutes. Drain, discarding liquid. Set aside.
Prepare vinaigrette: Place all of the ingredients into a small bowl and whisk to combine.
Assemble salad: Place apples, radishes and shallots in a large bowl. Add vinaigrette and toss to combine. Sprinkle with feta and fresh herbs and toss again. Serve immediately.

This is an APPLE SALAD WITH RADISH AND FETA we could eat every day!

My niece Melissa gets full credit for this exceptionally wonderful fresh salad recipe. A couple weeks back, she and her family sat down to dinner at the cottage where I was serving our GRILLED CARROT SIDE DISH. She said, “OMG! What’s on the carrots?” referring to the honey and lime vinaigrette boosted with spicy Thai bird’s eye peppers. While perusing the market the next week, I started thinking, what else can I use that simple dressing on? Soon enough, this crunchy apple salad was born.

Before sharing a few tips on making it, how about a lead on other great salad recipes we know you’ll love? Readers’ favourites include this ROASTED BEET SALAD, a PLUM SALAD and this easy GRATED CARROT SALAD. Other top picks include our ROASTED MUSHROOM SALAD, a CLASSIC WEDGE SALAD and then, one of my favourites, this EASY SUMMER SALAD. For all our salad recipes, visit our SALAD COLLECTION.

It’s crunch time! Let’s make an APPLE SALAD WITH RADISH AND FETA:

INGREDIENTS

Going back to that fateful market visit, the ingredients I gathered are all grocery store staples, so you’ll be able to recreate this no problem. Pick up apples, a bunch of red radishes, a box of shallots, some fresh herbs, a lime or two, and then a couple of bird’s eye peppers. I know some of you may think, where are the nuts? Though apple salads often include walnuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds, or cranberries, I opted not to include them as I didn’t want the salad overly nutty or too fruity. And remember, we always suggest using locally grown, organic fruits and vegetables whenever possible. We find they simply taste better.

A cutting board topped with two Ontario Honeycrisp apples plus more apples cut into chunks.

FRESH APPLES

I’ve never met an apple I didn’t like. When making this salad, we suggest looking for ONTARIO APPLES, remembering good things grow in Ontario. For this recipe, I used HONEYCRISP APPLES, but GALA, AMBROSIA and NORTHERN SPY APPLES will work too. Ultimately, you’re looking for an apple with juicy sweetness and good crunch. Make sure to watch the VIDEO crafted to accompany this post. Don’t dice the apples; rather, cut them into chunky bite-size pieces. This delivers pops of sweet-tart flavours with every bite.

RADISHES

Why did I add radishes to this CRUNCHY APPLE SALAD? I’m not really sure, lol, but they’re perfect. Radishes have a sharp, pungent, slightly spicy flavour with a peppery kick. The spice comes from chemicals called isothiocyanates, which are the same compounds found in horseradish and mustard—who knew? For the purposes of this fresh salad recipe, quarter them first, then thinly slice. We suggest using either the cherry globe or French breakfast varieties. They both have a pleasing, palatable peppery finish.

A bowl of red wine vinegar, some kosher salt and a couple of shallots.

PICKLED SHALLOTS

Shallots are a small, mild member of the allium (onion and garlic) family. They grow in clusters and have a delicate, slightly sweet flavour. They’re often used to make pan sauces and cooked crispy as a topper for soup, noodle and rice dishes. They’re also a key ingredient in a MIGNONETTE SAUCE, the classic condiment served with freshly SHUCKED OYSTERS. Up here in Canada, they’re usually sold in small boxes in the onion, garlic, and potato section of the produce aisle.

Thinly sliced shallots tossed in red wine vinegar and a bit of kosher salt.

Pickling them for this APPLE SALAD WITH RADISH AND FETA is super simple. First, we peel them and halve them lengthwise. Then thinly slice, add salt, and top with the red wine vinegar. Leave them to marinate for maybe 15 minutes before straining off the liquid. Pickled shallots in record time. LOVE!

HONEY-LIME VINAIGRETTE

Getting ready to post this recipe has me thinking I should do a stand-alone post for this vinaigrette; it really, really is that fabulous. Preparing it takes only two minutes. Place all of the ingredients into a small bowl, then stir or whisk vigorously to combine. Make sure the honey is completely dissolved, and the lime juice, lime zest, and oil are well combined.

Two additional tips on the dressing. First, give it another stir right before you add it to the apples and veggies. Second, wear culinary gloves when you seed and dice the bird’s eye pepper. Trust me, you don’t want that spiciness all over your hands!

Bowls containing crumbled feta cheese and freshly chopped herbs.

HERBS AND FETA CHEESE

The final two additions to this salad are crumbled feta cheese and a favourite freshly chopped herb. Both deliver even more flavour to the already fabulous flavour combinations gathered together. The feta adds a pleasurable saltiness and a bit of creamy texture too, while the herbs deliver fresh, aromatic notes. I used cilantro for this version of the recipe, but fresh flat-leaf parsley, chives, basil, and even tarragon will work too.

A large bowl containing all of the ingredients for the crunchy apple salad.

During the testing of this recipe, we determined the salad works best when tossed in two stages. Stage one: toss the apples, radishes, and pickled shallots in the large bowl with the vinaigrette. Stage two: add the feta and fresh herbs and gently toss one last time. I swear, no need to add additional kosher salt, though you may wish to do a tiny sprinkle of black pepper.

SERVE

There are a couple of options on how to serve this salad. Of course it’ll go great with standard fare like our ROASTED CHICKEN or this delicious PORK TENDERLOIN. I also think it may have a place for big celebratory family dinners like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. No, seriously, imagine serving this with OVEN-BAKED HAM, a STANDING RIB ROAST or our famous DRY BRINED TURKEY. That said, I do it as a stand-alone with a warmed pita. Sublime!

Crunchy Apple Salad with radish and feta cheese.

PIN IT!

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This crunchy APPLE SALAD WITH RADISH AND FETA is fab!

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