Here’s a festive dinner: Balthazar’s Moules à la Marinière, an on old favorite that takes no time to throw together, peasant bread, and this salad, a mix of paper-thin watermelon radishes, Cara Cara oranges — so sweet and pretty — toasted walnuts and goat cheese, dressed with shallots macerated in vinegar, olive oil, and chives. A few weeks ago, we received an enormous bag of watermelon radishes, which couldn’t be more beautiful, in our first winter CSA delivery, and we’ve been enjoying variations of this salad ever since. If you don’t have radishes on hand, turnips work, too, as do raw thinly sliced golden or red beets. Our first winter CSA: 30lbs of root vegetables. I can’t say enough good things about our Roxbury Farm CSA, which delivers to Columbia County, the Capital Region, Westchester County and Manhattan. Everything from the arugula to the butternut squash has been exceptional. 5 from 8 reviews A few notes:
A mandoline is helpful here. This is my favorite. To toast nuts: Preheat oven to 350ºF. Place walnuts on a baking sheet and cook for 10 to 12 minutes or until slightly browner and smelling fragrant. Dump the walnuts into a tea towel. Rub off the skins. Remove walnuts from towel, leaving skins behind. If you wish to get more of the skin off, place walnuts in a strainer and shake it aggressively.
