Outside of salads and as a garnish, what are some good uses of radishes? I recently bought way too many of them for my daily salad – when unbeknownst to me we already had some – and would very much like for them not to go to waste.
They are excellent braised, like in soups or as a side with a beef or pork roast. Think of them as mini turnips, you can use them where ever you’d use a turnip. I sometimes make them as a side with lentils - just cook up the lentils in stock, when they’re almost done, add some radishes sliced in half or quarters (depending on how big they are) and cook until they’re soft. You can also add onions and garlic in there for extra yumminess.
I find that whole, raw radishes make a nice, crunchy snack by themselves, or with a bit of ranch dip. Of course, if you’re already getting all the raw radishy goodness you can stand in your salad, this might not be an ideal option.
I will slice them up and use them in stir fry or soup. I will also use the leafy tops as a vegetable as well, though I usually mix them with other greens.
If you really have a lot, then you can pickle them. I’ve done it couple of time by following a sweet (or bread-and-butter) pickle recipe substituting in the radishes for cucumbers.
If you still have some more radishes and radish greens, you can also saute and roast them. I just made this recipe two days ago.
Cut off radish green, wash and put aside. Trim radishes and cut into quarters. Saute on cast iron pan for 2 minutes until browned. Roast at 475 degrees for 10 minutes. Take out of oven, saute again for 2 minutes. Add 2 tbs butter and radish greens, salt and pepper. Add 2 tbs lemon juice just before serving.
It’s a little more time intensive than raw but it goes perfectly with some garlic-rosemary roast chicken.
I had some leftover radishes yesterday, and we were heading to our cabin for the afternoon & dinner, so I sliced them and put them in with the potatoes we were going to cook on the fire. Sliced potatoes, onions, radishes, tossed with olive oil & salt & pepper, sealed up in tinfoil and thrown on the grill for about 45 minutes until everything was done. Heavenly!