On my list of all-time favorite vegetables, at number three, after the carrot and beets, is the radish. So simple. So delicious. I think I really love them for the heat and bite they have. Such a big flavor for what can be such a small vegetable.
RECIPES
SALAD OF RADISH, FIGS, WALNUTS & BLUE CHEESE
RADISHES SIMPLY WITH BUTTER & HERB SALT
Radishes are so lovely you really don’t need to do anything to them, and the three recipes I’ve given here are all so light and fresh. They are all about making the radish the star and letting the flavor shine through. They get your tastebuds all excited and leave your mouth zinging for more. And the lovely thing about that is that it stimulates your saliva glands and literally makes your mouth water. When the saliva reaches your stomach, it begins to react with the acids there, getting them boiling and excited for more food. People don’t think of vegetables in this way, that a little veggie can evoke that sort of reaction. They tend to think of them only as an accompaniment to meat and not just to be enjoyed for their own sake. And I think that’s a bit of a shame. Thankfully, though, the humble radish has enjoyed a great resurgence, and I think it’s safe to say the radish has enjoyed the status of being the “it” vegetable for the past few years in the food and restaurant world.
Its reputation and renaissance is certainly not undeserved. I recently had the pleasure of trying radishes with certain styles of Champagne and they match beautifully. What better way to enjoy a French breakfast radish than picking it fresh from the ground, washing and serving it with some beautiful unsalted butter, freshly churned from a local producer and sprinkled with some herb salt? Try the recipe I’ve included. It is simple and delicious; radish in one hand, Champagne in the other. I think you’ll agree the French really know what they’re doing. The other two recipes that I’ve included are really clean, fresh salads—one simply of heirloom radishes and the other is with figs, walnuts and blue cheese. They are both delicious and really energizing for the palate. Try serving them as a mid-course at your next dinner party and see how they refresh you and stimulate your appetite in anticipation of the next course.
Now radishes may have waxed and waned in popularity over the centuries, but humans have been eating them for thousands of years. There is much debate over whether radishes originated in China or ancient Egypt but, whichever is the case, there is evidence that they were being consumed by both civilizations, and being cultivated in Egypt as long as 4,700 years ago. They were also cultivated and enjoyed in ancient Greece and ancient Rome. Records show that they were part of the rations fed to the slaves that built the ancient Pyramids of Giza and they are still very popular right across Asia, even now, where they are mostly enjoyed pickled and preserved.
Radishes have long been praised for their medicinal and digestive properties. They act as a herbal diuretic, assisting in flushing toxins from the body and are supposedly beneficial for the hair, nails, teeth and gums.
You can find radishes in all manner of colors, from bright red to black, from dusky pink to white. The best way to prepare them is dependent on which variety you are working with. I really just love to eat the smallest radishes raw, as they are, with a little salt, as I’ve mentioned. Or as John Evelyn says, in his book Aceteria, published in 1699, radishes are best “eaten alone, with salt only, as conveying their peper [sic] in them.”
Some radishes, like the Asian radish, daikon, are as large as your forearm, while other smaller kinds, like the European radish, are around the size of a raspberry. I’ve grown many varieties over the years and they’ve all gone really well from seed. I’ve found that the timeframe from planting to harvest is about 21–28 days, depending on the variety. And do please grow from seed—I don’t see the point of seedlings when radish seeds grow so quickly and fervently anyway.
If you buy a mixed seed lot, you get a lot of different varieties in at once, which is always fun. The only variety I’ve had trouble growing is the Spanish round. They have a very leathery skin and look almost like a beet from the outside but are white inside. I’ve been successful with Early Scarlet Globe, which is small, round and red, as the name suggests. The Hailstone (otherwise known as a White Globe) actually looks just like a little turnip and has a mild flavor. The long scarlet can grow up to 6 inches and is just beautiful.
Then there’s the Cherry Belle champion, which is a smooth, deep red, and the Sparkler, with its pink top and white tip, which is so lovely and sweet. But my favorite, my absolute favorite variety of all time, would have to be Watermelon. It’s white on the outside but cut one and on the inside it has a beautiful pink blush like a watermelon. It is a truly beautiful thing to look at. Its flavor is not as mustardy as the other varieties, but it’s still lovely.
One tip to extend your harvest is to prepare your garden bed and have it all ready but stagger your planting. Just put in one row every four days otherwise all your radishes will come at once! So if you start planting on a Saturday, plant another row on the Thursday night when you get home from work, then on the following Monday, and continue on like that. Twenty-eight days later, you’ll have all the radishes you can eat.
HEIRLOOM RADISHES IN A SALAD
SERVES 4
This salad will do four easily but it’s a great number for two with some left over for the next day for lunch. It’s the perfect salad to accompany beef. Now I have listed my favorite radishes here for this salad but if you can’t get hold of them or the farmer doesn’t do variety bunches, pick just one bunch and it will taste just as good (but won’t be as visually splendid).
5 FRENCH BREAKFAST RADISHES
5 PLUM PURPLE RADISHES
5 SPARKLER RADISHES
5 WATERMELON RADISHES
1 APPLE (WHATEVER IS BEST IN SEASON), CUT INTO MATCHSTICKS
8 ANCHOVY FILLETS, ROUGHLY CHOPPED
1 LARGE HANDFUL OF ITALIAN PARSLEY LEAVES, CHOPPED
2 TABLESPOONS CHERVIL, CHOPPED
1 TABLESPOON MINT LEAVES, CHOPPED
2 TABLESPOONS HOUSE VINAIGRETTE (SEE RECIPE)
1 CUP MACHE LETTUCE
5 NASTURTIUM LEAVES
The method is really all in the cutting of the radishes. Take one of each radish and thinly slice on a mandolin and keep in cold water. Take another of each radish and do the same but then cut them into matchsticks and place into the same bowl of water. Cut the rest of the radishes into all sorts of shapes and sizes and set aside. (It feels really weird for me to cut non-uniformly but it’s great fun.)
Drain the radishes, place half into a large bowl and add the non-uniformly cut radishes. Add the apple, reserving a little for garnish, along with the anchovies, parsley, chervil and mint. Drizzle over the house vinaigrette so everything is nicely coated. Gently toss through half the mache lettuce, then place into a serving dish. Add the rest of the sliced radishes, apple, remaining mache lettuce and garnish with the nasturtium leaves.
SALAD OF RADISH, FIGS, WALNUTS & BLUE CHEESE
SERVES 2–4 AS A SIDE
This is probably the most refreshing salad ever. The English cream dressing is great for any leaves that need coating. Don’t go overboard, though. There’s no need to drown the leaves. Add only enough dressing to coat the leaves as a Caesar dressing would coat romaine lettuce.
1 BUNCH RADISHES (MIXED HEIRLOOM VARIETIES IF POSSIBLE), TOPPED AND TAILED
3 RIPE LARGE FIGS
1 SMALL BUTTER LETTUCE, LEAVES SEPARATED AND WASHED
1 SMALL GREEN OR RED OAK LETTUCE, LEAVES SEPARATED AND WASHED
3 CUPS WILD ARUGULA, PICKED AND WASHED
¼ BUNCH MINT, LEAVES PICKED AND FINELY CHOPPED
½ CUP WALNUTS, ROUGHLY CHOPPED
3½ OUNCES ROQUEFORT CHEESE OR OTHER CREAMY BLUE-STYLE CHEESE
2 TABLESPOONS CORIANDER SEEDS, TOASTED AND ROUGHLY CRUSHED
3 TABLESPOONS HOT ENGLISH MUSTARD
3 TABLESPOONS CHARDONNAY VINEGAR
1 CUP LIGHT CREAM
2 PINCHES OF FINE SEA SALT
2 PINCHES OF WHITE SUGAR
For the English cream dressing, whisk the mustard and vinegar together in a bowl. Whisk in the cream, then the salt and sugar. Set aside.
Thickly slice the radishes and place in a bowl. Slice the figs into 6 wedges and add to the bowl. Add the salad leaves, mint and some walnuts and crumble over some of the cheese but reserve a little for garnishing. Mix in just enough of the English dressing to coat the leaves. Arrange the salad on a plate, scatter over the coriander seeds and remaining walnuts and cheese.
RADISHES SIMPLY WITH BUTTER & HERB SALT
SERVES MANY OR 1
Where does history start and end? The French from Normandy and Brittany will tell you that this dish is theirs. Then you get some old chap from good old England talking and he’d tell you that the French don’t know what they’re on about and this is obviously British in heritage. Personally, I couldn’t give two hoots where this came from but this is the most simple and beautiful thing ever—a freshly picked radish covered in soft unsalted butter with a good sprinkle of salt on it. Butter and salt—great for the heart, yeah! At least there are some radishes involved.
1 BUNCH RADISHES (I’D USE THE FRENCH BREAKFAST OR CHAMPION VARIETY)
GOOD-QUALITY UNSALTED BUTTER, SOFTENED
HERB SALT (SEE RECIPE)
I highly recommend growing your own or buy the freshest available from a market stall. It’s important to have that hard radish texture that bursts with heat and earthy flavor that is so unique to radishes. All you have to do is simply wash and dry the radishes, cut in half, place on a wooden board with a little pot of the butter and a small mound of the salt as well. Serve as a canapé or enjoy just by yourself with a glass of cider while reading a book.
