Green Bean and Radish Salad with Garlic Scape & Mustard Vinaigrette

by // // Comments off

Fresh, vibrant and full of flavor, this Green Bean and Radish Salad with Garlic Scape & Mustard Vinaigrette is a delicious side dish for a summer barbeque. It is also great for a healthy lunch or snack.

Green Bean and Radish Salad with Garlic Scape Mustard Vinaigrette

Farm Stands in the Lake Champlain Islands

Another name for this Green Bean and Radish Salad with Garlic Scape & Mustard Vinaigrette could be Three Farm Stand Salad, as I visited three farm stands, in the Lake Champlain Islands, to acquire the main ingredients for this delicious dish.

We’ve spent the past few weeks at our lake house in Grand Isle, Vermont. Grand Isle is an island between South Hero and North Hero in Lake Champlain. These islands along with Isle La Motte and the Alburgh Peninsula, make up the Lake Champlain Islands.


One of my favorite things about the Lake Champlain Islands is the number of wonderful farm stands dotted throughout the islands. There is everything from little stands, that individuals put out in front of their homes to sell the surplus from their personal gardens, to professional farms, selling all kinds of local seasonal fruits, vegetables, meats, poultry, eggs, flowers and more.

Green Bean and Radish Salad with Garlic Scape & Mustard Vinaigrette

Acquiring the Ingredients

Last Wednesday, I took my three kids to Allenholm Farm in South Hero. Allenholm Farm is a great place to visit. They have a u-pick apple orchard (in season) as well as farm animals that you can feed, a playground and delicious maple creemees (i.e. soft serve ice-cream). On our way to the farm, I stopped at one of my favorite little farm stands and acquired a large bag of gorgeous green beans, all for only $2. I steamed some of the green beans to go with dinner that evening. The rest I saved for making a cold green bean salad.

On Friday, I headed to Pomykala Farm, a family run farm, on Grand Isle, in search of some cherry tomatoes for the green bean salad. I discovered that there were no cherry tomatoes, as they were not quite in season, but I did find some beautiful garlic scapes, which would be perfect for the mustard vinaigrette that I had in mind for the dressing.

I started browsing the other veggies, thinking of a suitable substitute for the cherry tomatoes, when I remembered another farm stand, not too far from our lake house, which is on my jogging route. On my last jog, I had noticed that the stand had fresh radishes, which would be perfect for the salad. I immediately headed over to that farm stand and scored a big bag of fresh radishes, again for just $2. Now, I had all the makings for a fresh and delicious Green Bean and Radish Salad with Garlic Scape & Mustard Vinaigrette.

Green Bean and Radish Salad with Garlic Scape & Mustard Vinaigrette

How to Make Green Bean and Radish Salad

To make the salad, I first lightly blanched the green beans, then transferred them to an ice-bath, so they were cooked a little, but still retained a bit of crunch as well as their gorgeous green color. Once the green beans cooled down, I patted them dry and added them to a mixing bowl along with the radishes, which I had thinly sliced. The tangy radishes complement the slightly sweet green beans so nicely.

For the dressing, I first made a mustard vinaigrette comprised of Dijon mustard, olive oil, white wine and a touch of honey. I then finely diced some of the garlic scapes. If you’re not familiar with garlic scapes, they are the flower bud of the garlic plant, usually removed in order to let the garlic bulb increase in size. Garlic scapes are similar in taste to the garlic bulb, however are more subtle and a little bit milder. I added the finely diced garlic scapes to the mustard vinaigrette, resulting in a delicious, tangy dressing with a touch of sweetness and a subtle garlic kick.

Green Bean and Radish Salad with Garlic Scape & Mustard Vinaigrette

Altogether, this Green Bean and Radish Salad with Garlic Scape & Mustard Vinaigrette is fresh, vibrant, full of flavor and has a nice crunch. This flavorful salad is perfect for a summer barbeque or picnic. This delicious salad is also wonderful for a light lunch or healthy snack anytime.

Have you tried garlic scapes? If so, what is your favorite recipe using garlic scapes? Please let me know in the comments below!

Print
Green Bean and Radish Salad with Garlic Scape & Mustard Vinaigrette

Prep Time: 7 minutes

Cook Time: 3 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Yield: 4 side dish servings

Green Bean and Radish Salad with Garlic Scape & Mustard Vinaigrette

Fresh, vibrant and full of flavor, this Green Bean and Radish Salad with Garlic Scape & Mustard Vinaigrette is a delicous side dish for a summer barbeque, it is also great for a healthy lunch or snack.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound green beans, ends snapped off
  • 1 cup thinly sliced radishes
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon honey (substitute maple syrup for vegan option)
  • 2 teaspoons finely diced garlic scapes (see Notes)
  • salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  • additional minced garlic scapes for topping (optional)

Instructions

  1. Heat a large pot, filled with water, on the stovetop to boiling.
  2. Add in the green beans, cook for 3 minutes or until beans are tender, but still have a bit of crunch.
  3. While beans are cooking, prepare an ice bath, by filling a large bowl with water and ice-cubes.
  4. When beans are done cooking, drain beans in a colander and then transfer to ice bath.
  5. Allow beans to cool, then remove from ice bath and pat dry with a towel or paper towels.
  6. In a small mixing bowl, make the dressing by whisking together Dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, olive oil, honey and garlic scapes.
  7. Add green beans and sliced radishes to a medium size mixing bowl. Add dressing and toss to combine. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
  8. Sprinkle with additional minced garlic scapes, if desired.
  9. Serve immediately or chill in the refrigerator.

Notes

You can substitute regular garlic and/or green onions for the garlic scapes. If using regular garlic, start with 1 teaspoon of garlic in the dressing, taste and add more if desired.

http://joylovefood.com/green-bean-and-radish-salad-with-garlic-scape-mustard-vinaigrette/

 
Fresh, vibrant and full of flavor, this Green Bean and Radish Salad with Garlic Scape & Mustard Vinaigrette is a delicious side dish for a summer barbeque. It is also great for a healthy lunch or snack.

You may also like:

40 comments

  1. Pingback: White Bean and Garlic Scape Dip - Joy Love Food
  2. Lou Lou Girls says:

    I absolutely love this! Pinned and tweeted. Thank you so much for bringing such a masterpiece to our party. I hope to see you tomorrow at 7 pm. We can’t wait to party with you! Lou Lou Girls

  9. Miz Helen says:

    I just love the combination of flavor in your dish. Hope you are having a fantastic day and we are so excited that you shared your post with Full Plate Thursday.
    Thanks so much and Come Back Soon!
    Miz Helen
    Miz Helen recently posted…Texas Peach SalsaMy Profile

    • Joy says:

      Hi Marjie, the garlic scapes don’t actually flower, but remain in a bud shape (see the second photo in this post, the garlic scapes are sitting on the cutting board in front of the salad, they look like curly green onions with a bud on top). You could use them as a garnish of sorts, but you probably wouldn’t want to eat them whole, unless you really really like garlic!
      Joy recently posted…Green Bean and Radish Salad with Garlic Scape & Mustard VinaigretteMy Profile

  35. Manila Spoon (Abby) says:

    I almost feel like it’s Christmas in summer with the lovely touch of red and green in your gorgeous salad! This looks delish and makes me want to try using garlic scapes, too!

Comments are closed.