Pimp My Radish

May 22, 2008 11:24 AM

What do I do with all these radishes?

So, the radishes in the garden have been coming up like mad and, aside from looking neat and being delicious in salads, we're kind of at a loss for what to do with them. So my question is a two-parter:

1. What to do with radishes besides salads?

2. Do you ever cook radishes (not daikons, just your average red radish)?

posted by electroboy to Food & Drink (24 answers total)

They are pretty good pickled and I have had them as an open-faced sandwich--get a nice, crunchy bagette, some good sweet butter and kosher salt--slice the radishes thin, slice the bagette into thin rounds, butter, layer with radishes, salt to your taste--yum!
posted by agatha_magatha at 11:33 AM on May 22, 2008

1. I had a delicious sandwich the other day with smoked salmon, some kind of creamy mustardy sauce that could be approximated by mixing mustard and mayo with maybe some chopped hard boiled egg, sliced radishes, and capers on a baguette.

2. Yes, you can sauté them in butter and they are surprisingly good. It takes the bite out of them, too.
posted by HotToddy at 11:33 AM on May 22, 2008

Um, I mean the sauce would be mustard, mayo, and egg. The radishes and capers go on top. Sorry.
posted by HotToddy at 11:34 AM on May 22, 2008

Eat them raw with a teeny dash of salt on every bite.
posted by cog_nate at 11:35 AM on May 22, 2008

A late-spring hors d'oeuvre:

1 bowl of washed & trimmed radishes
1 crock or ramekin of unsalted butter
1 plate or other small dish of good, coarse sea salt

Dip radish in butter, then in salt. Eat. Enjoy. Repeat.
posted by dersins at 11:40 AM on May 22, 2008

Seconding pickled (with chiles!) Also, they make good salsa-scoopers, particularly salsa verde.
posted by desuetude at 11:40 AM on May 22, 2008

Try roasting them as you would a baby turnip or other root vegetable? A quick Google on "roasted radishes" brings up a whole bunch (ouch, pun unintentional) of delicious-looking things. I hope I get radishes in my CSA box this week so I can try this roasted radish and goat cheese pie!
posted by catlet at 11:41 AM on May 22, 2008

Korean-Style Pickled Rads:

Three cups red rads.
Half cup rice vinegar.
Half cup apple-cider vinegar.
One teaspoon table salt.
Two tablespoons sugar.
Four tablespoons ginger-garlic paste.

Mix all together.
Marinate, covered overnight.

Tangy heaven!
posted by Dizzy at 11:57 AM on May 22, 2008

Wash them, throw them down the slaw chute of your food processor, add favorite salad dressing. Enjoy Radslaw :)
posted by watercarrier at 11:59 AM on May 22, 2008

Deep fried.

Dip in batter and deep fry. Serve with some piquant sauce.
posted by watercarrier at 12:01 PM on May 22, 2008

Learn to carve radish flowers as garnish!
posted by kaseijin at 12:04 PM on May 22, 2008

Braised Radishes
posted by blueskiesinside at 12:07 PM on May 22, 2008 [1 favorite]

Two of my favorite salads are Radish, Cucumber, Onion & Chickpea Salad with a Lemon-Parsley Dressing and Asparagus & Edamame Salad with Green Garlic. (Forgive self-linking.)
posted by jocelmeow at 12:13 PM on May 22, 2008 [1 favorite]

I'm with cog_nate - I love raw radishes and munch them like potato chips if they're handy (which they were when I lived at home and my dad had a surplus of them in his garden). If you lived near me, I'd gladly take a few bushels of radishes off your hands. Since that's not possible, I suggest having relish trays for lunch/snacks during the upcoming warm months, and include a selection of raw veggies like cucumbers, green peppers, celery, carrots, scallions, cherry tomatoes, radishes and whatever else you like. Add a few dips (even something as simple as Ranch, bleu cheese and Green Goddess dressings) and you've got a healthy yet filling hot weather meal.
posted by Oriole Adams at 12:26 PM on May 22, 2008

Whoops, you expressly said "not salads." Apologies for the above.

How about including some in a blender gazpacho? They'd make it nice and zesty.
posted by jocelmeow at 12:30 PM on May 22, 2008

Response by poster: Feel free to post salad recipes too. I was mostly just referring to the typical "sliced, on green salad" sort of application. The radish/cucumber/onion/chickpea salad looks really good.
posted by electroboy at 1:02 PM on May 22, 2008

I know your pain.

I made these Bread-and-Butter radishes a couple weeks ago. They were pretty good, though some of the spicier radishes ended up tasting kind of turnipy.

Ignore the bit about them lasting 5 days in the fridge. Mine have been in there for 2 weeks and are still crisp.
posted by mudpuppie at 1:04 PM on May 22, 2008

I like to slice them into rounds and add them to stir fries. The cooking mellows them but the crunch remains. They taste and feel like water chestnuts in a way.
posted by advicepig at 1:27 PM on May 22, 2008

Radish sauerkraut!
posted by gum at 1:58 PM on May 22, 2008 [1 favorite]

Raw with a side of lager. They're like beer nuts for my mom's side of the family.
posted by weebil at 5:11 PM on May 22, 2008

More ideas than you could possibly have radishes for at Tastespotting:

http://www.tastespotting.com/?action=search&show=&query=radish
posted by lottie at 6:15 PM on May 22, 2008

I just made the Braised Radishes recipe that BlueSkies provided and I'm here to testify that it is scrumptious!
Can I get a witness?
posted by Dizzy at 7:03 PM on May 22, 2008

I had an excess of radishes last year. Occhiblu cubed them and sauteed them with their greens in a little bit of olive oil with garlic and sea salt. That was freaking delicious.
posted by ikkyu2 at 7:08 PM on May 22, 2008

Response by poster: Can I get a witness?

Amen! I made it too and they were fantastic.
posted by electroboy at 8:56 AM on May 23, 2008