Market Fresh: Radishes

Radishes are one of the fastest and earliest crops to harvest from the garden. I think that's why my mom always let us kids plant them when we were young. Our patience wouldn't be as tried by the radishes as it would be by the tomatoes or green beans.

I think we only ever planted the bright red variety of radish that is most commonly seen in the supermarkets. But, there are many varieties of radishes. Last year I planted "Easter Egg" and "White Icicle" (as seen above on this month's header). Most of us found the White Icicle radishes to be a bit too spicy for our liking, but we enjoyed the more milder Easter Eggs.

Usually, when our family enjoys radishes we eat them either as part of a veggie tray with dip, or alone with salt sprinkled on them, or sliced into a green salad. It was fun to find some recipes that used radishes in a different way. You might want to give one of these a try!



RADISHES WITH BUTTER AND SALT
(adapted from the Barefoot in Paris)
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2 bunches of radishes, tops intact
sea salt
good salted butter or herbed butter
1 French baguette, sliced diagonally, and lightly toasted

Herb Butter:
4 oz. (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1 1/2 tsp. minced green onions
1 1/2 tsp. minced fresh dill
1 1/2 tsp. minced fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice (or, try 1 tsp. lemon zest)
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

Combine the herb butter ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on low speed until combined. Do not whip.

Thinly slice the radishes. Spread the herb butter on the toasted and cooled bread. Arrange the radishes on top of the buttered bread. Sprinkle with plenty of salt.

Serves 6-8.



This salad was delicious! We loved the taste of the sesame combined with the cucumber and radish.

RADISH AND CUCUMBER SALAD
(www.bbcgoodfood.com)
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1 cucumber, halved, peeled and thinly sliced
10 radishes, thinly sliced
1/2 red onion, finely chopped and soaked in lemon juice for 10 minutes
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. sesame oil
1 small red chilli, seeded and finely chopped (I left this out)
2 tsp. sesame seeds, toasted
salt & pepper

Put the cucumber, radish and onion (straining off any excess juice) in a bowl.

Whisk the rice vinegar, oils, chilli and some seasoning together and pour it over. Toss well and leave to sit for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with sesame seeds to serve.

Serves 4-6.





I could not resist trying a recipe for cooked radishes. Although it was a completely foreign idea to me, I thought it was definitely a novel idea to keep in mind when you need something new and exciting to accompany a dinner. The taste seemed somewhere akin to a Brussel sprout, but a different texture.

GLAZED RADISHES
(Food Network)
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radishes
butter
salt
sugar

Place radishes in a saute pan and add water until it comes a third of the way up the vegetables. Add a slab of butter (I used 2 Tbsp.) and a hearty pinch of salt and sugar. Bring to a boil, then simmer over medium-high heat until most of the liquid evaporates; toss radishes in the buttery glaze.