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Roasted Radishes with Toasted Walnut Purée and Puffed Wild Rice

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Makes 4, plus leftover purée 1x

Time 30 minutes, plus approximately 1 hour (inactive cooking) to roast garlic

Units Scale

Ingredients

  • 2–3 large bunches radishes, breakfast or regular (or a mix of both), halved
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt, to taste
  • Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

For the walnut purée:

  • 1 1/2 cups walnuts, toasted
  • 1 whole head of garlic
  • Extra virgin olive oil, for roasting
  • 1 lemon, juiced and zested
  • 1 small handful chives, chopped
  • Salt, to taste
  • 1/4 cup walnut oil (or extra virgin olive oil)

For the puffed rice:

  • 1/4 cup wild rice
  • Vegetable oil, for frying
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 420°F degrees. Cut the garlic in half (horizontally), drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, wrap it in tin foil and place in the oven to roast for 45 minutes-1 hour.
  2. In the meantime, make a spice blend for the puffed rice, mixing together salt, brown sugar, cayenne pepper and onion powder—adjust amounts of each to your liking. Heat enough vegetable oil to submerge the rice in a small pan until hot and shimmering, add wild rice and fry until puffed, about 10 seconds.
  3. Transfer the rice to a paper-towel lined plate and sprinkle with seasoning. Set aside. When the garlic is ready (it should be soft and squeezable), add it to a blender (removed from its skin) with the toasted walnuts and lemon juice and salt. Blend while slowly streaming in walnut  or extra virgin olive oil, until thick and buttery smooth. Stir in chopped chives and lemon zest, taste, and add more salt if needed. Set aside.
  4. Bring a pan to medium-high heat, add extra virgin olive oil, and once it’s shimmering, add radish halves (face down), and season with salt and black pepper. Sear for a couple minutes, then shake the radishes around the pan until some color has developed on all sides.
  5. Spread a generous amount of walnut puree on a plate, top with the cooked radishes and puffed wild rice, and serve.

— Recipe developed by Erika Houle