Making Radishes Lovable
There is somebody in the house who’s not so fond of radishes, especially radish leaf soup or stir-fried radish pods, but I’ve just hit the jackpot!
I made something with radishes where the reaction was: “I can eat radish like that all day long!” I am sure that was an exaggeration, and I won’t serve this at every meal. But I must admit it was good.
In fact, the current crop of French Breakfast style radishes has peaked: they are gathering strengths to make seeds, and you can tell because the root is starting to a be little hollow. Still… I can’t throw them out.
Thanks to VeggieBelly, I’ve had fresh pickles on my mind – hers was mango, but hey, I don’t have mangoes, I have radishes – and what else do I have growing now? let’s see spring onions and cilantro – lots of cilantro as a matter of fact, and it’s starting to bolt because it did not like the few days above 90F (32C) that we had – so I need to use it.Voila, Quick Pickled Radish Salsa was born! We’ve tried it with several dishes, and we like it best with stir-fry beef, simple pork stew, hamburger steak and served with rice. Definitively need the rice to make up for the saltiness (and heat) of the pickle. And inspired by Marisa of Food In Jars who puts everything in jar, I jarred it. (if the radish salsa is not consumed right away, the radishes will start to turn pink throughout, continue to exude some juice and the texture will change somewhat – still very good – just not the same).
Quick Pickled Radish Salsa
The quantities are very flexible. I don’t measure. I just grab some of everything: One day I want more cilantro, one day I may want more heat. Anyway, for those who insist on quantities:
Ingredients:
- 1 bunch radishes – it’s OK if they are a little old, or hot (it’s actually a good use for them)- trimmed of roots and leaves
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 3 spring onions (or 3 shallots)
- salt
- a dash vinegar
- optional: a teaspoon of Vietnamese-style hot sauce, or 1 or 2 bird chilies, sliced thinly.
Instructions:
- Slice the radishes and the bulb part of the spring onion very thinly (also slice the green parts, but set aside).
- Arrange in layers in a glass jar, salting each layer lightly as you go. Let sit for about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Mince cilantro, including stems.
- Stir the radish mixture. Add the cilantro, onion leaves, vinegar and chilies if using.
- Serve with rice (in the picture, hamburger steaks with more cilantro, stir-fried asparagus and plain rice)
Locavore Logs: radishes, cilantro, onions from the garden.
and I am sending this to Marija from Palachinka for Weekend Herb Blogging #184.
this sounds yummy. i’ve been looking for radish recipe ideas.
Fresh and delicious idea! I did not start any radishes this year but will have to try this with some bought at the market. I did grow a couple pots of cilantro so I look forward to using them in a few weeks.
Love the radish salad in a jar – the host for this week is Cinzia at Cindystar, if you shoot off an email to her you should make the recap. Thanks for joining in!
Radishes ARE lovable !
I applied also a similar “trick” to make someone eat something lately…
Anyway, your jar of pickled radish salsa is really eye catching !
Oh, this is something I’ll have to try. I’m not a big radish fan, but I get them in my CSA bag this time of year. So far, the only things I really like them in are stir-fries and radish “sandwiches” (good bread + butter + sliced radishes + sprinkle of salt). This would use up a lot. Thanks!
I made something like this over the weekend, and thought I had invented it! Mine was radish, onion, hot peppers (from the freezer), salt and lemon juice.
Oooh, wonderful! Just in time for the first radish harvest of the year…
Thank you all. This type of cooking is so spontaneous that it’s hard to say it’s a ‘recipe’, but it works. I just made another version using lots more cilantro for a party and it was a big hit, served with with farm fresh cheese and crackers.
Entangled, I am sure lots of people have made something similar! so, in effect, we have have “invented” it.