I love them raw, but I am curious as to the best method. I imagine they are similar to potatoes, being very starchy root veggies. Anybody here ever cook a radish?
Yep, you can roast or fry 'em. They get milder when cooked.
And of course you can slice and pickle them.
I have, but for an unusual reason: making this recipe from the court of Richard II when I was teaching a Chaucer class and decided to do a food day. It was … OK, actually, but if I were going to make it again, my two top changes would be 1) use a LOT less vinegar; and 2) skip the boiled radishes. I think roasted might be better.
Thanks for that recipe, I love it. That is a lot of vinegar for sure
I started a thread about this last year. My own opinion was meh, but that was just me. I might try it again, in another dish with assorted roasted root vegetables.
Not cooking, but I like to pickle them. They make a fantastic topping/garnish for all kinds of things. Not just salads, but hot dogs and burgers, meaty fish, chili, tacos, and more.
Method: make a bath with one part citrus juice to three parts vinegar. This is flexible; if you have mild citrus like orange, use a stronger vinegar like red wine; if you have stronger citrus like lemon, use a milder vinegar like apple cider. I don’t like balsamic for this, but hey, do what you like. Anyway, whisk in a heavy pinch of salt and a big spoon of sugar, according to your taste, plus black pepper and other spices as you wish (I like granulated garlic and cumin; cayenne is also interesting).
Trim and wash the radishes, then slice thin (no more than ⅛ inch, thinner is better; I do this by hand but a mandolin may be preferred). Soak the radish slices in the pickling bath for at least an hour; 2 is good. You don’t want to go too long because you lose all crispness and can’t taste radish any more (but again, up to you). Then drain and serve.
(I also reserve the pickling liquid and use it to make coleslaw.)
I use them in stew, but the only way to make good use of them in a stew is to put them in in the last few minutes so they’re nearly raw. Anything more than that destroys the flavor and texture, at which point why are you bothering with radishes?
They’re more like turnips than anything else, both in texture and flavor once cooked.
I’m not much of a radish fan in any event. The only ones I’ve actually enjoyed are the pickled daikon radishes that I’ve got along with Korean and Japanese food.
If you do like radishes, they’re stupid easy to grow, and don’t actually take long. IIRC, they’re like 45 days from planting to harvest, and can be grown in a pot, etc… And there are a zillion varieties you can grow as well.
I saw a recipe on tv for sautéing them in butter
I’ve done that. They were fine - but honestly I preferred them raw.
Pickling did occur to me as an option, but I want to see how they turn out cooked. I will try quartering them and par boiling, then sautee in olive oil.
Perfectly good and edible with seasoning, but the radish flavor was gone. I will try roasting them next time.
Rather belatedly, here’s a recipe I hand out at farmers’ market:
Needed:
Frying pan or wok
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon mustard seed
1 small onion, or about 3 bunching onions
1 or 2 garlic greens with bulbs, or garlic scapes, or cloves of garlic
2 bunches radish (about 10 to 12 radishes) (or 2 to 4 watermelon radish)
Salt and pepper to taste
Chop coarsely the onions, garlic, and radish.
Put oil in the pan on medium heat.
When oil is hot, add mustard seed.
When the mustard seeds splutter, add onion and garlic.
Sauté for 3 to 5 minutes till edges of the onions are brown.
Add the radish; mix well; add salt and pepper to taste.
Cook covered for about 3 to 4 minutes.
Once the radish seems soft, remove lid and turn up heat. Sauté on high heat a couple more minutes.
The radish will be soft yet crunchy; mustard seed will also be crunchy.
For best results, cook immediately before serving.
Entire cooking and preparation time is less than 15 minutes.
Thanks, that sounds pretty good.