5 Ingredients or Fewer

Radish, Snap Pea & Burrata Salad

by: Cristina Sciarra

March 16, 2015

4.7

7 Ratings

Photo by James Ransom

Prep time 20 minutes
Serves 4 to 6 as an appetizer

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Author Notes

I’ve made this salad at least a dozen times since snap peas appeared at the market. I’m crazy for it. It’s dead-simple to throw together, but it looks like a million bucks on the plate. It’s equally suited to a solo desk lunch, or as an impressive dinner party starter. I’ve brought it along on picnics, each element prepped ahead of time, and then thrown it together in minutes on site. (Scale up for a larger crowd.) It’s fresh and bright and wonderful and—please just try it.

This isn’t a salad of precision—add more of whichever ingredient you like best. You can use a big ball of burrata for this salad (tear it up with your hands), but I also like using smaller burratini; in this case, I usually dice instead of tear. You could also use a ball of regular, soft mozzarella, if you can’t find burrata.

I prefer breakfast radishes when I can find them, but the recipe doesn’t demand it. Substitute or add your favorite herbs, especially fennel fronds. Cured ham or fava beans would make this more of a meal. Serve with plenty of crusty bread, for sopping up the vinaigrette. Finally, it’s worth springing for a high-quality finishing olive oil and sea salt here—it makes a difference.

(I'm taking the liberty of assuming that salt, pepper, and olive oil count as pantry staples...) —Cristina Sciarra

Test Kitchen Notes

WHO: Cristina Sciarra is the blogger behind The Roaming Kitchen and is a lover of ice cream.
WHAT: A dead-simple salad of every spring thing (radishes! peas! burrata!).
HOW: Layer thinly sliced radishes, snap peas, and chives over a torn ball of burrata, shower with lemon and olive oil, eat joyfully.
WHY WE LOVE IT: A salad much more than the sum of its parts but where each ingredient is allowed to shine. We loved the way the lemon enhanced the snap peas, while the burrata gave the salad a wonderful creaminess. We'd love to serve it at a dinner party (or eat it alone on the porch after a trip to the market). —The Editors

Test Kitchen-Approved
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What You'll Need

Ingredients

Directions

Prep the vegetables: Scrub the radishes well, and then trim off the greens and whiskery end bits. Slice the radishes thinly, on a mandoline or by hand, or simply quarter them. Wash the snap peas, trim each end, and pull away the connective strings. Slice the snap peas on a bias. Mince the chives.
Set out a large plate and break the burrata into pieces. (You can dice the burrata, but it’s just as easy to tear it into pieces and hand-scatter across the plate.) Now spread the radishes over the burrata, and then the snap peas, and then the chives. Juice and zest the lemon over the plate, and drizzle a generous measure of olive oil over everything. Finish with sea salt (I used about 1/8 teaspoon), and several cracks of black pepper. Serve with bread for mopping.

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Cristina Sciarra

Cristina is a writer, cook, and day job real estate developer. She studied literature, holds an MFA in Fiction Writing, and completed the Basic Cuisine course at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. She lives in Jersey City with her husband--a Frenchman she met in Spain--and their sweet black cat, Minou. Follow her writings, recipes, publications and photography at theroamingkitchen.com.

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8 Reviews

Emily April 27, 2022

I steamed the snap peas and then shocked in ice water. this seems like an important step. otherwise, fresh and yummy

Michele March 26, 2020

I was SO excited to try this salad based on the glowing reviews, but in my opinion, it was "meh". A nice fresh salad to have a small plate as an appetizer, but I would not serve it as a meal. If I made it again, I would chop the snap peas finer and serve it in a shallow bowl where I could toss everything and get that yummy burrata all over as opposed to just chunks underneath. In my opinion, burrata is just too expensive and fine of an ingredient to not be "front and center" in a dish.

Cristina S. March 26, 2020

I’m sorry you were disappointed, Michele. You can certainly cut the snap peas finer, and I often use regular mozzarella. I agree that the ‘vinaigrette‘ can be the best part.

Jeanie B. March 3, 2020

This recipe is definitely a keeper. I couldn’t find burrata so I used a mozzarella ball instead. I was a great start to dinner but would be great as just an appetizer or light lunch. The crusty bread is a must for this to sop up all of those delicious flavors!

Cristina S. March 3, 2020

So glad you liked it! I can't wait for sugar snap peas.

jperrella June 5, 2019

Wonderful! Made this tonight. Spring on a plate! Got the radishes & snap peas from the farmer's market, and chives from my deck. So simple and fresh, even my 12 year old was fighting us for the last bits on the plate. For sure will make this again next week after getting more radishes & snap peas!

Christa C. June 3, 2016

This recipe was so simple to prepare. Once the vegetables and herbs were shaved and chopped, it took only minutes to assemble. I happened to have watermelon radishes, which added a beautiful pink color to the plate. The creamy burrata cheese perfectly balanced the pepper of the radishes, the sweetness of the snap peas, and the tart of the lemon juice. The herbs, olive oil and flaky sea salt brought it all together. Paired with a crusty baguette and a glass of rose, it made for a perfect lunch in my garden.

Alexandra V. June 3, 2016

Going to make this soon, I love how simple but elegant it is. Congratulations.