Last night prepared sauted radishes. I had no idea you could cook radishes! I’d always had them raw, in salads, or just on their own.
I picked up some radishes at the Farmer’s Market for a salad, and, being that I am a) cheap and b) always on the lookout for new sources of iron, it occurred to me that the greens might be edible. I did some googling, and found that, yes, radish greens can be cooked just like other types of greens, and radish roots can be cooked, too.
So I sliced the roots fairly thick and stemmed the greens. I sauted the roots in canola oil until they just started to brown, then added the greens and continued to cook them until they were nicely wilted, and seasoned them with a touch of salt. The greens were surprisingly mild, and the radishes were kind of like a tender, subtly peppery turnip. Next time I’m going to throw in some tumeric and garam masala.
I’ve also heard that kohlrabi can be cooked. Like radishes, we always had them as a summertime, straight out of the garden thing; we just peeled them, sprinkled them with salt, and noshed. But come to think of it they are similar in taste and texture to broccoli stalks (which makes sense, since both broccoli and kohlrabi are members of the same species Brassica oleracea, along with cabbage & kale—that’s some species, eh?), so I bet they’d be lovely in a soup or a stir fry.
Have you recently discovered that one of your favorite raw foods can be cooked, or that something you’ve always cooked was also delicious in its raw state?
No. However, we have discovered new ways to cook asparagus. My mother has always tended to steam asparagus. One Saturday at the Farmer’s Market she got a recipe for roasting asparagus–like in our toaster oven. Since she got that recipe, that’s the primary way she has fixed asparagus.
On another occassion, I found a recipe in Taste of Home for asparagus chicken ka-bobs. And so, I fixed it. Very tasty, although skinny asparagus spears are a pain in the fingers to put on the skewers–and some of my pieces of asparagus split when I tried to skewer them. Left over asparagus went into the toaster oven. (I’d fixed more asparagus than the recipe called for).
Also, Mom found a recipe in Southern Living for a cold salad which called for Asparagus–pretty tasty, although the asparagus were kind of cold and slimy–not the texture I associate with asparagus.
Raw meats are awesome. Beef, pork, bacon, chicken, it doesn’t matter. I have said it here before and I will say it again now: there is no meat that improves its flavor from cooking. It is always better raw.
I, also, have started eating raw asparagus. It’s great in salads or with dip, or just by itself. The only thing is that you have to cut off the other end, where it’s tough and stringy. I also add chunks of asparagus to omelets. Not exactly raw, but not fully-cooked either.
I’ve had raw bacon countless times before. As long as it’s smoked and salted, I don’t believe there’s that much risk. I rather routinely gnaw on thick slices of slab bacon. To be honest, I’ve even had raw ground pork before (Mettwurst, anyone?)
Anyhow, I’ve only had kohlrabi cooked – I didn’t realize you can eat it raw. I will have to try it that way next time. I particularly love Hungarian stuffed kohlrabi.
Try it with a few spears, topped with a slice of smoked mozzarella, wrapped in phyllo pastry with the ends sticking out, and baked until the phyllo is crisp.
I had no idea, until last week, that oysters could be cooked. I’ve always had them, either fresh or smoked, as-is. I think I imagined they’d melt away like anchovetta if put into a stewpot. Boy, was I wrong.
It freaks my wife out that I love raw peas. I learned to love them as a child. There’s nothing finer than taking a just-picked pod, splitting it open with your thumbnail, and raking out the sweet little peas within and crunching 'em right up. MMM.
