Healthy Pea Salad

This Healthy Pea Salad is light, crunchy, and cool—perfect for summer gatherings and picnics! 

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It’s been one hot summer here in Tennessee! I feel like we completely skipped spring. This hot, hot weather calls for no-cook recipes like this Healthy Pea Salad with cool, crisp peas and crunchy radishes.

It has a really simple dressing made with lemon juice & zest, olive oil, a touch of cayenne, garlic, and mint. Now, before you start thinking mint sounds like a crazy idea in a pea salad, I think you’ll be surprised! I served a very similar recipe to this (minus the radishes) at a cooking demo last month and people L-O-V-E-D it! There was a guy who came back for third helpings he liked it so much.

I’ve been trying to cook with radishes more often because I feel like they’re undervalued. Radishes are an excellent source of vitamin C, providing about 30% of the recommended daily value in a 1 cup serving. Vitamin C is essential for a healthy immune system, vision, and skin health. This root vegetable is also a good source of fiber, potassium, and folate.

There’s a popular restaurant/bar in Nashville called Bastion that serves some of the best nachos in town, and they always include thinly sliced radishes on top. They add a nice pop of color and spiciness to the nachos. You better believe I’m going to throw some radishes on top of my homemade nachos next time!

Katie, over at Healthy Seasonal Recipes, wrote a great guide to radishes on her blog so if you have any questions about radishes, be sure to read her post.

My friend Hassan at HydroHouse Farms gave me some of the mint he’s been growing for Nashville restaurants so that’s what I used in this recipe. Nothing beats fresh-picked mint! I’ve also been growing a small mint plant on my deck this summer along with basil, cilantro, and rosemary.

This Healthy Pea Salad works well along-side grilled or seared fish such as haddock, cod or halibut, or grilled chicken. I hope you’ll give it a try this summer! If you do, please share a photo of it on Instagram and use #thenutritionadventure so I can see your lovely creation 🙂

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Healthy Pea Salad

This Healthy Pea Salad is light, crunchy, and cool---perfect for summer gatherings and picnics! 

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Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 3 cups

Author: Karman Meyer, Dietitian at The Nutrition Adventure

Ingredients

• 16 oz. frozen peas
• 1/3 cup diced red radishes
• 1/4 cup fresh finely torn mint leaves
• 2 tablespoons finely diced shallot
• 2 tablespoons lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

Instructions

• 1. Allow peas to thaw at room temperature or by rinsing in a colander under cool water. Place peas in a medium-sized mixing bowl and add in diced radishes.
• 2. In a small mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Pour the dressing over the peas and radishes. Allow the salad to sit for 2 hours in the refrigerator before serving for best flavor. Keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g

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