Market Fresh – Romancing the Radish

When spring is still a whisper away, it’s a good time to explore the cool-weather vegetables we normally take for granted….and I’m hard-pressed to think of one more overlooked than the humble radish.

Often dismissed as little more than a colorful afterthought for crudité platters, there is probably not a grocery store in California that doesn’t keep a permanent mound of red radish bunches piled high in the produce department (or, worse yet, stripped of their leaves and decaying in plastic bags.) Unfortunately, more often than not these little orbs are unpalatably peppery, giving the entire genus a bad rep.

Although available year ‘round, radishes are just now coming into their finest season. And if you’ve limited your past consumption to only the red globe varieties, you are in for a very affordable surprise at the farmers’ market.

Members of the mustard family, radishes are root vegetables that resemble tiny beets or turnips. Aficionados reach for the reliably mild Flambo or French Breakfast radish, so chic with its elongated shape, red shoulders, and white tip. White Icicle radishes are, as the name suggests, long, thin, and snowy white. The rounded Easter Egg radish comes in varying shades of red, pink, purple, and white; often bundled together for visual appeal.

It is believed radishes were first grown thousands of years ago in China, and eventually migrated to Egypt and Greece. They made their way to England in the mid-16th century, and were cultivated in Massachusetts less than 100 years later. Although now grown throughout the U.S., the largest commercial crops come from California and Florida.

While perusing radishes at the farmers’ market, be sure to also stock up on end-of-season apples, pears, and citrus. And treat someone special to a bouquet of fresh flowers to brighten up a cold wintry day.

Radish Tips and Trivia

• 1 cup of sliced radishes weighs in at less than 20 calories; with 4 grams of carbohydrate, 2 grams of fiber, and 45 mg sodium. They also contain 29% of our RDA of Vitamin C.
•   Crisp, bright green leaves are the primary indicator of freshness.
•   Smaller radishes are generally milder and crunchier. As the weather gets warmer, most radishes become spicier.
•   Some may like them hot, but everybody wants them crunchy—which means the very best radishes are fresh from the grower. Once purchased, use them within 5 days.
•   Unless you plan to serve the radishes intact, trim away the leaves, leaving a bit of the green stems attached. Then store the radishes in an open plastic bag in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator.
• Radish leaves are edible—and nutritious—so do not discard. Rinse them well to remove any grit, then add to salads or cook as you would Swiss chard or kale.
• Radishes are best served raw; but any unpleasantly peppery ones are easily tamed by cooking—either sautéed or roasted with olive oil, salt, and pepper; or braised in a bit of chicken stock and a splash of white wine. Serve warm as a side dish.
•  Enhance a crisp butter lettuce salad with sliced radishes, chopped fresh chives, and a homemade herb vinaigrette or buttermilk dressing.
• Toss sliced radishes into your favorite coleslaw or other cabbage- or cucumber-based salads.
• For another invigorating salad, combine sliced radishes with matchstick-size pieces of jicama, bite-size chunks of avocado and orange segments, dressed with a lime-cilantro vinaigrette.
•  For a taste of the exotic, cut away the skin and pith from several navel oranges. Cut the oranges crosswise into 1/4-inch slices and arrange on a platter. Mix together a tablespoon or so of fresh lemon juice, a few drops each of orange flower water and honey, a pinch each of ground cinnamon, salt, and cayenne; then drizzle over the oranges. Scatter sliced radishes on top and garnish with small fresh mint leaves.
• Serve a bowl of sliced radishes at the table to top off posole or other soups and stews.
• Tuck radish slices inside soft tacos, or shower them over tostadas.
• Spread crostini with soft goat cheese and top with radish slices, a tiny sprig of arugula or watercress, and a few grindings of black pepper. For more genteel occasions, make tiny tea sandwiches filled with paper-thin radish slices, finely shredded mint leaves, and a lemony mayonnaise.
• Grate radishes into softened cream cheese; stir in some chopped fresh parsley and season with salt, pepper, and a squirt of lemon juice. Serve as a spread for cocktail rye, pumpernickel bread rounds, or whole radishes.
• Whip up a healthy lunch by stirring sliced or coarsely grated radishes into cottage cheese, and season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.
• Stir grated radishes into guacamole for added crunch and color. Ditto for egg salad.
• Pair chopped radishes with cucumber, celery, minced red or green onion, and cilantro for a refreshing homemade salsa.
• For an unusual raita, mix chopped radishes with cucumber, yogurt, and a few minced golden raisins; season to taste with ground cumin, salt, and a bit of minced fresh jalapeño. Serve alongside spicy curries; as a condiment with grilled chicken or fish; or as a dip with pita chips.
• Make radishes the unexpected star of grain or veggie salads. (Especially when asparagus and sugar snap peas come into season.)
• Rozanne Gold, author of Radically Simple, sautés sliced French Breakfast radishes and their coarsely chopped leaves along with bite-size strips of bacon; then tosses everything together with just-cooked pasta, grated Pecorino Romano, lots of coarsely cracked black pepper, and a dash of salt. Brilliant.

Radish Crudité

This classic French appetizer couldn’t be easier on the host—nor is there a better way to showcase your latest radish finds from the farmers’ market. The quality of each ingredient elevates the simple to the sublime.

• Whole young French Breakfast radishes (the smaller the better), or red globe radishes, halved lengthwise
• Best-quality unsalted butter, such as Kerrygold or European-style Plugra, at cool room temperature
• Coarse salt, such as Maldon sea salt, fleur de sel, or kosher salt
• Thin slices of sweet baguette

1.  Rinse radishes well with cold water. Leave whole with leaves intact, or trim away some or all of the leaves, maintaining enough of the green stem to serve as a “handle.” For maximum crispness, refrigerate the radishes in a bowl of ice water, covered, until serving time. (This can be done up to 24 hours in advance.)
2. Drain the radishes well and arrange on a small platter. (You can place them on a bed of crushed ice, if you like.) Accompany with a crock of butter, a small dish of salt, and the bread. Set out an empty bowl for any radish tops that may be discarded.
3. Have each guest spread a bit of butter on a radish and dip lightly into the salt. Eat as-is, or cradled in a slice of bread.

Variations:

• Mix chives or other fresh herbs into the butter before serving.
• For added depth of flavor, offer truffle salt (available in many gourmet shops), or mix a bit of finely grated lemon zest into plain coarse salt.
• Provide a small dish of toasted cumin seeds as an alternative to salt.

The Danville Certified Farmers’ Market, located at Railroad and Prospect, is open every Saturday, rain or shine, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. For specific crop information call the Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association at 1-800-949-FAR, or visit their web site at www.pcfma.com.