Around a week ago a friend from work asked if I’d like a bunch of his surplus radishes. As you will understand, it would have been impossible for someone as frugal as I to refuse such a generous offer, so I candidly accepted, despite not being the most avid fan of radishes. Upon opening the bag left for me in the fridge, I found myself rather impressed by the colour of the brassicas you see before you, having only previously used the shop-bought, perfectly spherical, uniformly red variety. The taste of the vegetables was also far better than I had expected and would clearly be well-matched with something sweet; hence the apple.

Naturally, the body of this salad would be rather light, so as not to disguise the texture, nor the delicate flavour of the radishes. As such, a mixture of salad leaves seemed the best option for which to plump. Indeed, many of the leaves also complimented the flavour of the radish rather well. For instance, the peppery rocket and fiery watercress, of which there was a little, has a similar effect on the tongue as the radish, which allowed it to play an effective back-up role. A good back-up it provided too, for as you know, it’s best never to mess with rocket.

It was great to hear, or read, all of your tennis anecdotes following my last post. However, it is rather a shame to discover that much of my readership resides in a communal den of iniquity, dedicated to the support of Rafa Nadal; shame on each and every one of you. Then again, it takes all sorts and what would life be without a little variety and healthy disagreement? Still, he’s currently struggling against the final member of tennis’ top-100, Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic. Anyway, since a good number of you also failed to declare any interest whatsoever in the world of tennis, I shall now shut up. Enjoy this rather striking salad!

Radish and Apple Salad

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

• A small bunch of radishes, thinly sliced

• 1 apple, cored and thinly sliced

• A handful of rocket

• A handful of baby spinach

• A handful of watercress

• 3 tbsp olive oil

• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar

• ½ tsp Dijon mustard

• A pinch of salt

• A twist of black pepper

• A little parmesan cheese, grated (optional)

Method:

1. This should be reasonably self-explanatory. Make sure all of your ingredients have been thoroughly washed before constructing it. Basically, chuck all of the fresh ingredients into a bowl. Mix together the oil, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper until it has emulsified. Drizzle the vinaigrette over and give it a mix up. Grate the cheese on top, if you wish and serve with a little crusty bread.

Cost: Based on the assumption that not many of you receive free bags of radishes on a daily, or weekly, basis, the entire salad should set one back no more than around £1.70. That’s not bad for a nice, fresh, leafy salad. Indeed, radishes are in season at the moment and are, as a result, extremely cheap.