Whipped up in under 15 minutes, this raw tomatillo salad shows us how a clever combination of simple ingredients can create so much flavour on a gorgeous plate of food.
With a wide or Y peeler, peel the cucumber into long wide strips to make ribbons. Place each strip on paper towels and pat dry.
Remove the outer leafy husk of the tomatillos. Give them a good wash to remove that sticky film on the skin. Cut 8 into half and leave the rest whole.
Cut 4 rainbow radishes into 8 thin wedges each. Make sure you get a good mix of all the colours. Then, using a mandolin set at 2 cm, slice the other 4 radishes.
Salad Dressing
Juice 2 oranges. Make sure the seeds are discarded.
In a small mixing bowl, add the orange juice, olive oil, apple cider vinegar and honey.
Mix until well combined.
Assembly
In a large mixing bowl, add the mixed leaves, cut tomatillo, radishes and orange vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Toss until well combined and place on a nice serving platter.
Roll the cucumber strips and tuck between the salads.
Add the whole tomatillo around the salad.
Serve.
Notes
If you are not able to find tomatillos, the best substitute would be green tomatoes. As they are much larger, just either slice them or cut them into wedges. Alternatively, just use cherry tomatoes of your choice.
If rainbow radishes are not available, try getting a bunch of French breakfast radishes or just regular red radishes. The flavours are exactly the same across the different varieties
For a vegan recipe, substitute honey with organic rice malt syrup or agave. The tartness of the tomatillo and peppery raw radishes will need some sweetness to help balance the flavours. You can use maple syrup, although the butterscotch tastes may not match perfectly.
If you can’t find continental cucumber, any other normal cucumber will do. Just roll 2-3 strips in continuity to give the effect required.