With 10 core ingredients, this refreshing cucumber radish salad is simple and fun to make. You whip up a lush garlic lime tahini and swoop it all over your serving plate. Then, thin slices of Persian cucumber and radish are piled high on top. Finish with finely chopped pistachios and a few dabs of spicy chili crisp if you so desire. Every bite is crisp, creamy, tangy, and bracing with a hint of heat. The swoop and pile-on-top construction here reminds me of this seared broccolini with whipped tahini & chili hazelnuts.

This salad took a winding little detour to come about! I had tried giving radishes the crispy smashed treatment (similar to potatoes) and it just wasn’t working. After sharing the failure on Instagram, one of my followers sent me a photo of a tahini-dressed radish salad that they enjoyed, which got my wheels turning. Then I started making these playful little radish “carpaccio” kinda salads with fried capers, herbs, and sherry vinegar.

All of that kitchen experimentation led to this cucumber radish salad! A mandoline slicer makes quick work of the veggies. All you have to do is whip up the tahini sauce that gets swooped onto the plate. The end result is creamy, nutty, garlicky, and zingy with lime.

I tried a version of this with basil and mint for the herbs and it was lovely! Ultimately, I decided to keep it simple and specify just the basil in this final version. If you’re like me and have both in your garden, I say go for it.

Hope you love this simple radish and cucumber salad! There is one really key tip in the recipe notes that I want you to pay attention to. Beyond that, have fun throwing together this cool and fresh little number. It only takes 30 minutes or so :)

Shaved Cucumber Radish Salad with Garlic Lime Tahini & Basil

Refreshing cucumber radish salad on top of a moat of garlic lime tahini is a flavor and texture dream! Finished with chopped pistachios and chili crisp.

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 30 minutes mins

Servings 6 -8

Ingredients

Garlic Lime Tahini

• ½ cup tahini
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced with a Microplane
• 1 teaspoon lime zest
• 2 ½ tablespoons lime juice
• 1 ½ tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
• sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
• ⅓ cup cold water

Salad

• 2 bunches radishes, stems removed (about 2 cups)
• 4 Persian cucumbers
• ½ cup fresh basil leaves (I used a mix of Genovese, red opal & Thai)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
• 2-3 tablespoons shelled and salted pistachios, chopped
• chili crisp, optional

Equipment

• Mandoline Slicer
• Stick Blender or Small Food Processor

Notes

• Super important!!!: toss the cucumbers and radishes with salt, pepper, oil, and lime juice RIGHT before serving. The longer they sit with the seasoning, the more water they let off (which we don’t want!).
• You can whip up the tahini up to 5 days in advance. Just keep it in the fridge and give it a whisk/stir with a splash of water prior to serving.

Instructions

• Make the garlic lime tahini. In a small food processor, or using a stick blender in a jar, combine the tahini, garlic, lime zest, lime juice, maple syrup, Worcestershire, salt, and pepper. Pulse until combined. Then, with the motor on low, drizzle the water in through the feed tube. Stop the food processor to scrape down the sides and pulse it a couple more times. The resulting texture should be a thick, somewhat whipped-like texture, but still fluid enough to pour from a spoon. Once you have it right and seasoned to your liking, set aside in the fridge.
• Using a mandoline, slice the radishes and cucumbers nice and thin. Toss them into a bowl. Finely slice the basil and add that to the bowl as well. Toss the veg and basil with the olive oil, lime juice, salt, and pepper.
• Swoop the garlic lime tahini all over your serving platter. Then, spoon all of the lightly dressed cucumbers and radishes on top. Sprinkle the pistachios and spoon a bit of chili crisp on top if you like. Serve immediately.

Author: Laura Wright

Course: Salad, Side Dish

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan

Keyword: 10 ingredients, 30 minutes, basil, chili crisp, cucumber, garlic, lime, maple syrup, pistachios, radishes, spring, summer, tahini, Thai basil, vegan worcestershire sauce