Kim’s Rainbow Spring Salad

Enjoy the beauty of fresh, local veggies with this delightful rainbow salad, perfect for spring!

Local food enthusiast and creator Kim Harada shares with us this delightful salad creation, which is surely a 2-in-1 delicious recipe and piece of art! Kim’s cooking is always most inspired by the local ingredients she finds, so this salad is all about showcasing as many colorful local veggies as possible!

“And after a trying year, I feel like we all deserve to treat ourselves and what better way than with something healthy, delicious, and fun to look at?! This salad is a celebration of spring, a time for new beginnings, progress and growth. Crunchy bitter root vegetables and watercress are brought to life with a tangy spicy Macadamia Nut Salsa, topped with Makrut & Tahitian Lime.” -Kim

Rainbow Spring Salad Recipe (Serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

For Macadamia Nut Salsa

• 8 oz unsalted Macadamia Nuts
• 1/3 cup Macadamia Nut oil
• 1 jalapeño, thinly sliced, remove seeds if you want it less spicy
• 2 inch piece of ginger, finely diced
• 3 1/2 tbsp pineapple vinegar
• 2 tbsp poppy seeds
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp sugar or honey
• 1/4 tsp Hawaiian sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

For Roasted Vegetables

• 1 bunch Breakfast Radish (6-8 radishes, reserve 2 for garnish)
• 1 bunch Purple Daikon (4-5 radishes, reserve 1 for garnish)
• 2-3 Watermelon Radish (reserve 1 for garnish)
• 3-4 Carrots (reserve 1 for garnish)
• 2 small Fennel Bulbs with fronds (reserve for garnish)
• 2 tbsp avocado oil (recommend for high heat)
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• Hawaiian sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

For Garnish – Reserve on the side for serving

• See vegetables above
• 1 Tahitian Lime
• 1 Makrut Lime
• Roasted Macadamia Nuts (reserved from dressing)

To Assemble Salad

• 4-6 oz tender or baby leaf watercress, cut in 2 inch pieces before serving
• Roasted Vegetables with Macadamia Nut Salsa
• Prepared Garnishes

Head to our marketplace to shop for your ingredients; Unsalted Macadamia Nuts, Macadamia Nut Oil, Purple Daikon, Carrots, Watercress and more!

Instructions:

Be sure to read through the entire recipe and gather all of the needed ingredients.

Salsa

1. In a small bowl, combine macadamia nuts, oil, salt and pepper and mix well.
2. Toast coriander, cumin, fennel seeds for 1 minute or until fragrant. Grind roughly in mortar and pestle.
3. Transfer spices and half of nuts to a bowl along with all the remaining salsa ingredients (reserve other half nuts for garnish).
4. Mix well and set aside.

* Note: Salsa can be made up to 3 days ahead and kept in air tight container in the fridge.

Roasted Vegetables

1. Preheat the oven to 475°F. 
2. Put the chopped breakfast radishes, daikon, watermelon radishes, fennel and carrots in a large bowl with the oil, garlic, half a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. 
3. Mix well, then arrange on one or two large oven trays lined with parchment paper, making sure the trays aren’t overcrowded. 
4. Roast for 15-18 minutes, until starting to brown and just cooked (the vegetables should still be slightly crunchy) then transfer to a large bowl and leave to cool.
5. Toss the mac nut salsa in with the roasted vegetables to combine. Leave to marinate for 10 minutes.

Prepare Garnishes

1. Prepare bowl with ice water and squeeze of lemon in it (this is to keep radishes crisp and prevent browning).
2. Slice radishes, daikon and carrots into thin 1/4 inch slices (Optional: use small cookie cutters to make decorative shapes). Place in ice water bath.
3. Supreme the tahitian lime (remove skin and white membrane).

Assemble Salad

1. Lay out watercress on large serving plate.
2. Using half of your roasted vegetables coated in the macadamia nut salsa, add a layer of veggies on top of the watercress (eat the other half of the roasted veggies tomorrow with fried sweet potatoes and egg!)
3. Place garnish vegetables on top.
4. Squeeze lime juice over your salad.
5. Top with Makrut Lime zest (A little goes a long way! Start small and add more if needed).
6. Present your finished salad, and then mix it all together before serving.
7. Enjoy!

Mahalo nui Kim for all of your hard work in creating this recipe and for the beautiful photos!