The lovely vegetables in this series all have one thing in common: once you get them home from the farmers market, you quickly run out of ways to use them. Well, we’re here to tell you that these typecast vegetables are a lot more versatile than you might think—and we’ve got the recipes to prove it.
If your thinking about radishes has been limited to the usual clichés—slice and put into a salad, make into a rose and use as a garnish—we can help expand your thinking a little bit.
The highest and best use of a radish, in my opinion, is thinly sliced on buttered bread (preferably rye) with coarse salt. That will get you appreciating the radish like nothing else. Then consider using it in other situations where you might use jícama, celeriac, turnips (to which radishes are closely related, of course) or celeriac: as radish remoulade, roasted or poached, as salsa, or simply steamed and glazed (cook in a little water and butter together, until the water evaporates and the butter coats.)
It’s worth noting that the common red radish—the only kind sold in most supermarkets—is also the least interesting; head to your local farmers market for icicle, butter, and the exquisitely beautiful watermelon radish. And don’t forget the daikon, which is shredded and served as a garnish next to many Japanese dishes.
A tip: Grating or thin-slicing is a good treatment for any radish, but especially those whose flavor is a bit harsh; sprinkle with a little salt, let sit for a while, squeeze gently, and they’ll become both crisper and milder. Amazing.
💡 Kitchen Tip
When radish greens are in good shape, you can eat them— saute them as you would spinach.
Poached Radishes
Radishes and eggs make me think of every event at Jewish temple with a spread of sliced, watery, generic radishes and hard-boiled eggs. Even at my Jewish day school, we often had hard-boiled eggs and radishes for lunch. So that flavor profile has really stuck with me, maybe even haunted me. This version treats everything with a little more care, for something that’s deeply satisfying. Poaching the radishes helps mellow their spicy bite and gives them an almost meaty tenderness. I’m a big supporter of soft-boiling eggs always, letting the jammy yolk be the center of richness. And finally, a few spoonfuls of roe add a perfect salty brine to balance it all out. – Jeremy Salamon
Radish Platter with Butter Three Ways
Because this recipe involves three different forms of butter—salted, herbed, anchovy-loaded—you might think that’s what it’s all about. The truth is that finding the best radishes you can get your hands on is key: Colorful, crunchy, peppery, and ready-to-dip-and-chomp. Don’t forget to arrange them into a beautiful pattern. — Erika Houle
Radish Salsa
Serve this colorful salsa with any tamale or quesadilla, or simply a big bowl of tortilla chips; it also makes a fine garnish for almost any dish. — Mark
Roasted Radishes with Toasted Walnut Purée and Puffed Wild Rice
As much as I love the fresh bite of a thinly sliced radish round, leaving them more intact and imparting them with an earthy sweetness through cooking them is the move here—as is dragging them through a purée that’s loaded with toasted walnuts and roasted garlic.
With a puffed and seasoned wild rice topping, crunch isn’t lost but reimagined with a lighter touch. Similar to cauliflower in terms of mildness, and to carrots in terms of pairing perfectly with walnuts, cooked radish halves are an ideal vessel for taking on whatever sweet and salty flavors your heart desires. — Erika Houle
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