Watermelon Daikon Salad

The Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op made a salad for us the night of Rick Mahan’s Pizza Secrets class. I knew from the first bite that it was something I wanted to recreate at home. They went through the ingredients super fast and I scribbled some notes to create a shopping list.

Salad Ingredients:
Mixed Greens
Red Onion – I added this
Fennel
Watermelon Daikon
Almonds – sliced, slivered, whatever you prefer

Dressing Ingredients:
Katz Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Katz Sauvignon Blanc Vinegar
Orange Zest
Kosher or Sea Salt
Ground Pepper

Sometimes it’s the quick meals that turn out to be show stoppers. Nothing beats a simple/clean salad and this one certainly delivered.

The truth – I have not been a fennel fan over the years… but I have found that I do like shaved fennel in salads. The thinner the better.

I used my sharp knife since I don’t have a mandoline – which is probably a good thing, seeing as I can barely work a peeler or grater accident free. 😉

I had never had watermelon daikon a.k.a. watermelon radish/Chinese radish before. I am a huge radish/daikon fan, so it was not surprising that I liked it a lot. They are pale green to white on the outside and a really pretty pink to ruby red on the inside. The Chinese name for watermelon daikon is “xin li mei” meaning “beautiful in the heart.” – Most definitely… I’m a very visual person when it comes to food and I loved the pop of color the slices added to my salad.

These were pale pink in comparison to some of the vibrant reds I’ve seen on the Internet. I was surprised at the extreme difference in size when I shopped for them. Some were fairly small, while others were as big as baseballs.

I got all of my veggies sliced and added them to my organic mixed greens in a big salad bowl for easy tossing. I then started on the simple dressing.

I eyeballed measurements – I had scribbled down 1 cup olive oil to 1/3 cup vinegar – I didn’t need that much so I poured less. I ended up with just under 3/4 cup total – but tried to keep the same ratio.

I used the zest of 1/2 a medium sized orange and saved some aside to add to my salad as a topping. I then added my ground pepper and salt and gave it a good stir.

I’ll be making this salad and dressing over and over again. Can’t wait to try some of the other Katz artisan vinegars – I’m most interested in trying the sparkling wine flavor – I’m a huge champagne vinegar fan when it comes to salad dressings.

Making my own vs. buying my own salad dressing has been the best decision I’ve made over the past year. I love just adding a touch of this and that and having something new each time. Right now I’m big on adding different fresh herbs and mustards – maui onion, stone ground, dijon, spicy brown, beer flavored…my fridge is loaded with mustard.