Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Radishes, radishes, and more radishes

Do you like radishes? That's a difficult question to answer because there are so many varieties of radish, from the round red ones to the fat black radis noir to the large and long white daikon. But I'm talking about the radis rose, the pink radish, commonly found in French markets. They're sold in bottes (bunches), but they're very easy to grow at home.

Some of my home-grown radishes, tied up in a little bundle.

The best way (in my opinion) to eat them is right out of the garden. Spread a little sweet butter on a piece of French bread, dip a cleaned and trimmed radish into a little table salt, then take a bite of buttered bread and a bite of salty radish. It's an amazing combination. The pink radish has a little bite to it that the butter offsets. Tasty!

Radishes sprout quickly and are ready to harvest in a couple of weeks. My problem is that I plant too many at once, so we end up with way too many radishes that are ready to harvest. Many of them get too big to eat raw, and we end up cooking them. The radish greens get saved for salads or blended up into a pesto (the same way you make pesto with basil).

7 comments:

  1. I never thought to do that with radishes. I've gotten a bunch this year from the local CSA. If I get any this week, I'll give it a whirl.

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  2. I have never cooked radishes. I'm going to try it. For some reason roasting comes to mind...is that right?

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  3. I love radishes (a rarity in my circle apparently.) the little round red kinds. I just wash and trip them and eat them as is...occasionally with a bit of salt.

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  4. I like radishes, but they don't like me. Burp!

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  5. Cooked radishes are delightful!

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  6. rick, let me know what you think.

    suzanne, well, I haven't tried that! But simmering and sautéing work.

    sean, cool. Try with bread and butter some time.

    cubby, that can be a hazard!

    judy, yup!

    will, true!

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Tell me what you think!