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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
Green Bean and Radish Salad with Garlic Scape & Mustard Vinaigrette
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.
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
- Heat a large pot, filled with water, on the stovetop to boiling.
- Add in the green beans, cook for 3 minutes or until beans are tender, but still have a bit of crunch.
- While beans are cooking, prepare an ice bath, by filling a large bowl with water and ice-cubes.
- When beans are done cooking, drain beans in a colander and then transfer to ice bath.
- Allow beans to cool, then remove from ice bath and pat dry with a towel or paper towels.
- In a small mixing bowl, make the dressing by whisking together Dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, olive oil, honey and garlic scapes.
- 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.
- Sprinkle with additional minced garlic scapes, if desired.
- Serve immediately or chill in the refrigerator.
[…] had some garlic scapes left over from making my Green Bean and Radish Salad with Garlic Scape & Mustard Vinaigrette and decided to make this White Bean and Garlic Scape Dip from a recipe I had come across at […]
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
Lovely fresh and filled with flavor! Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things blog hop. Watch for your feature on Monday xo
What a great way to change up green beans. I love it!
Thanks for sharing on the Homestead Blog Hop. I hope we see more from you today!! Pinning this. Thanks.
Looks lovely Joy!! Thanks for sharing on My 2 Favorite Things on Thursday!! I love having you! Hope to see you again on Thursday! Pinned!
This looks like a perfect Summer salad š
I had no idea that you had 3 kids. That must be some adventure. š I really like your recipe.
Thanks Rini! I do indeed have 3 kids, my son is 7 and my twin girls are 3, and everyday with them is absolutely a wonderful adventure! š
Mmmm!! Fresh summer flavors served up here – this looks delish!
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
What a beautiful (and delicious looking) summer salad! I could go to town on a whole bowl right about now!
Beautiful dish. I love all the components and would have no guilt digging in and eating it all.
This looks delicious and so fresh!
I got all of these ingredients in my garden right now! Thanks for the inspiration.
What a wonderful combination Joy! very healthy indeed! This is my kind of salad! Pinned and shared!
Thanks for sharing this at the Say G’day party! Pinned
I had never heard of garlic scapes. Could you use them as a tasty flower decoration in a salad, or would it be a bit intense?
I love green beans and radishes. This is such a unique recipe.
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!
Your salad looks wonderful. It’s great when you can visit different farm stands to get what you need. Their food tastes so good because it’s so fresh. That area of Vermont sounds like a place I need to visit.
I love the combination of green beans, radish and garlic scapes (thanks for explaining what they are!). The honey mustard dressing is one of my favorites for salads. Yum!
Oh this looks perfect for the summer. I’ve just started using garlic scapes this summer and I’m madly in love w/ them so I can’t wait to try this!
Beautiful salad. It is always nice to find new ways to use radishes.
This looks amazing!
Wonderful salad packed with delicious flavors! I love greens!
It’s so nice to know that you shop the same way I shop….shop to shop to shop until all of the magical ingredients are found! I’m pinning this for later because I have to first find garlic scrapes.
I love that you used garlic scapes! They are one of my favorites from the farmer’s market and I am going to be really bummed when they are gone! Hopefully we will still have them a couple more weeks and I can try this!
This looks delicious and very healthy too! Thank you for sharing and joining our Oh My Heartsie Girl Wordless Wednesday Link Party. Have a great day, co-host Evija @Fromevijawithlove
Sounds like a perfect salad for summers!
This looks so fresh and crisp. I love that you used radishes.
The Salad looks yummy and no, I have not used Garlic Scape as I did not even know about them. But will look for some the next time I am out as a Fruit Stand.
This is a WONDERFUL salad!! I’m a vegetarian, and I really like green salad like this one š
Stumbled
This salad looks awesome! I’ve been seeing garlic scapes around so much lately but I’ve never tried it, need to try and get my hands on some!
Shhhhh dont tell anyone but I am dieting at the moment. Need to lose so much so this is a nice recipe to try for me!
Looks delicious š
This looks so good! I’ve been on the lookout for garlic scapes at my farmer’s market and have come up empty so far. I’m not giving up though!
This sounds fantastic, I love salads with yummy pops of flavor and beautiful colors!
this salad looks so clean and refreshing! I am trying to make more and more stuff like this lately – pinning!
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!
This looks beautiful and vibrant love the flavors!
This is such a great salad dish. Unique and a great way to use garlic scapes. Im such a fan of these and am always looking for new ways to use them.