In season: radishes. Delicious: potatoes.

Being mid-summer, there is so much in season, but yesterday at the Port Melbourne Gasworks, these radishes caught my eye. They were so colorful and seemed to epitomise fresh summer flavour. They are very peppery, so needed a way of preparation to take the sting out. I decided on a Middle Eastern style salad, that uses a mix of lemon and lime juice to remove the sting and adds a middle eastern flavour with cumin, cinnamon and honey. A fresh tasting, delicious salad that would go well with lamb. It's also vegetarian and low (no) fat.

Ingredients

• 4 carrots, peeled, thinly sliced
• 1 bunch radishes, washed, dried, stems and roots trimmed, thinly sliced
• 1 red onion, halved, finely chopped
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 60ml (1/4 cup) fresh lemon juice
• 60ml (1/4 cup) fresh lime juice
• 1 tbs honey
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• Salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 1 bunch fresh continental parsley, leaves picked
• 
  
• Combine the carrot, radish and onion in a large bowl.
• Heat a small frying pan over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until aromatic.
• Whisk together the lemon juice, lime juice, honey, cinnamon and cumin seeds in a bowl. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the salad with dressing and sprinkle with parsley. Gently toss to combine.

As we were barbecuing, I wanted to make a simple potato salad. I do love the Jones Potatoes who do the market rounds, never had a dud bag.

For salad, yellow firm varieties are best and I was reaching for the kipflers, when I saw this variety, Pink Fir Apple, that look similar to kipflers. They are an old type and are lovely and waxy- ideal for salads. Its pinky on the outside, but peeled, is a lovely yellow inside and has a nutty flavour.

This potato salad is very simple and a good crowd-pleaser.

Ingredients

• 500g potatoes
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1 tbs lemon juice
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup (100g) mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup (60g) sour cream
• 3 tbs chopped mint leaves
• 2 tbs chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 4 spring onions, thinly sliced
• Optional: 2 rashers of crispy fried bacon, chopped finely

Method

1. Cook potatoes in a saucepan of boiling salted water for 10-15 minutes until tender. Drain, cool slightly, then cut the potatoes into pieces and place in a bowl. While warm, season with salt and pepper, then drizzle with oil and lemon juice. Cool.

2. Mix remaining ingredients, season to taste, then add to cooled potatoes and toss well to combine. Top with the bacon if using.