When was the last time you ate a radish?
Be honest.
It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Maybe since, like, childhood?
Last Spring, I served a plate of plump, scarlet radishes with a slab of unsalted butter and a dish of cracked sea salt as an appetizer. People were dumbfounded.
“Radishes?”
“I can’t even tell you the last time I ate a radish.”
“I never even think about radishes.”
“What’s with the butter?”
I explained that the French eat radishes this way; dunk the radish in some lovely butter, sprinkle on a little salt, and eat. Sometimes the French slice a crisp baguette, smear on a healthy layer of butter and top with thin slices of radish and a dusting of salt–and it’s great served that way–but I was too lazy to bother with the bread.
Yes, I am often guilty of being a lazy hostess. So stone me.
I guess I’m also an inconsiderate hostess, because I didn’t serve anything else for an appetizer, so my hungry guests didn’t have any option but to try the radishes. Like a schoolyard bully, I stood, arms crossed, staring them down, daring them to reject the radishes.
“What? You’re afraid of something that’s teeny and pink, for Chrissakes?”
Much to my satisfaction, my terrorized guests consumed the radishes and declared them a delicious surprise.
If the idea of a radish gives you a flashback to a large, woody, overly pungent, bulbous thing, then I’m betting you faced off with a winter radish. An old, overgrown winter radish. And if that’s the case, I don’t question your trauma at all. Those radishes are, indeed, a little frightening.
Radishes are best in spring and summer, when they’re tiny, crisp, mildly tangy bundles of joy. Truly. I know you’re suspicious, but trust me on this one. They add beautiful color and a little zing to a dish.
This dish, specifically. This recipe is spring on a plate. It makes a delightful side to your favorite grilled meat or, if paired with a bit of bauguette, a lovely vegetarian lunch.
Come on. I dare you.
Pea and Radish Salad with Goat Cheese
serves 4
slightly adapted from Bon Appetit magazine
Dressing:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon hazelnut or walnut oil
1 1/2 tablespoons champagne vinegar (you can substitute 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar if you wish)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Salad:
1 cup frozen peas (or you can use fresh if you can find them)
1 cup fresh or frozen shelled edamame
1 cup sugar snap peas, stringed
1 1/2 cups butter lettuce or baby spinach, washed and torn into bite-sized pieces
1/3 cup radishes, washed, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 (6-ounce) package fresh goat cheese, crumbled (crumble it yourself rather than buying the pre-crumbled kind; it makes a difference)
1/4 cup toasted walnuts or hazlenuts (depending on the oil you used in the dressing), coarsely chopped
Fill a large bowl with cold water and add a few handfuls of ice; place radishes in ice bath and set aside.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook frozen peas 1-2 minutes (4 minutes for fresh shelled peas); remove with a slotted spoon and place in the ice bath with the radishes. Cook edamame in the same boiling water for 4 minutes; strain and add to the ice bath. Add snap peas and cook for 1 minute; remove and place in ice bath. Stir vegetables until cool. Drain the cooled vegetables thoroughly and transfer to a large salad bowl.
Add torn butter lettuce/spinach to salad bowl and toss with dressing. Add crumbled goat cheese and toasted nuts and toss lightly again. Serve.
{ 60 comments… read them below or add one }
I JUST bought a bag of radishes last week and have been cutting them up for our salad each night. Before that, it had been a while since I’d eaten them! I love them…I just always forget about them! Your dish looks delicious!
omg that sounds good! I used to eat radishes, as a kid, by soaking them in my milk, then eating them and drinking the milk… which by then was deliciously mildly flavored with… radish!
Winn, that sounds almost as bizarre as my father’s tomato/sauerkraut juice drink!
Love, Love, Love the radish. Not very close buddies with the Goat cheese…
Heather,
Feta would work really well here, too! :)
Ahem.
I have never, in my life, eaten a radish.
They scare me with their pretty pinkness.
Beets tried to fool me into trying them with their beautiful color.
My tastebuds still won’t speak to me after that vile affront.
Cheryl, you are right. Beets are the devil’s instrument.
My daughter has spent the last two weeks wearing bunny ears, declaring she is a rabbit, and requesting carrots and lettuce for every meal. Perhaps now is the time to introduce the radish. She just might eat it, being, you know, a bunny and all.
You are an evil genius, Stacia.
Ok, ok, ok. Maybe I’ll give radishes another chance. You talked me in to it.
You cannot live in France (or Belgium for that matter) without liking radishes. I recently planted them in the garden and can’t wait for the first one to be sliced, spread on some toasted bread with goat cheese and eat it!
Before last summer, I had only had a radish or two when they were the only things left on a veggie tray. However, they were cheap, so I gave them a shot last summer and threw them in my ginormous 100 lbs salads I crave when it’s hot. Verdict? Spicy, but not bad. I don’t like dressing but use plain Greek yogurt or cottage cheese as the “dressing,” and it cuts the peppery flavor of the radish nicely. Good crunch.
P.S. You could dip a shingle in butter and it would be delicious. Butter is best.
Kitch, have you been peeking into my crisper again? After a nearly 40 year mistrust of the radish, I have decided to give them a try. They will be braised and glazed. So maybe it’s really less about the radish and more about the butter?
Abby and Wendi, you do have a point. Butter improves everything. Well, except maybe fennel. Nothing can save fennel.
My dad used to love radishes. I made a salad last night that came from a mixed bag of vegetables and my husband was so excited to find a single radish in it. I never knew that he liked them this much :)
I like radishes and have always put them in salads until I found out that they make my husband extremely gassy in a foul-smelling way. But the idea of them on bread with butter and salt… mmm… I might just have to buy some again. :)
I don’t think that I’ve ever eaten a radish. My mom used to eat them on her salad, but they do nasty things to her tummy so I don’t think she eats them anymore. Maybe that is where my fear lies. I don’t like it when nasty things happen to my tummy.
I’m trying both…the appetizer and the salad!
I love radish and the dish you have here looks tasty AND beautiful. Perfect spring food porn. I enjoy mine sliced thinly in a sandwich with cream cheese, chopped fresh mint and sea salt. Divine in its simplicity. That’s the loveliness of radish isn’t it?
My husband and I planted a few rows of radishes this past weekend (MN). It is always the first seed that goes in the ground. After years of trial and error, we’ve foung THE PERFECT SEED – we like a radish with a sharp “bite” to it – “spicey” as my daughter would say.
My mom used to eat a radish sandwich, much as you described, on bread with butter.
But then we also plant rutabagas :) so, a radish?? Mere staple!
~d
Dawn,
How the hell do you cook the rutabaga?
I admire you for serving your guests radishes without any bread! I love radishes, even eat the tops as a pesto or a soup or in a salad. Radishes are a great overlooked nutritious little thing and if you get the jumbo purple ones from Korea, quite a good investment too~
Ever since we made enchiladas that called for radishes as a garnish, I’ve fallen back in love with them–crispy and crunchy with just a bit of bite. I’m going to have to try the radishes and butter when it gets really hot out.
I love radishes. I love to dunk them in bleu cheese salad dressing, but the butter/sea salt combination sounds even better. Can’t wait to try this.
Ha! I just ate some yesterday and will have more with my lunch today! They’re delicious. Picked some up from Whole Foods for $1/bunch. I eat mine as is; too lazy to dunk them in anything.
This salad looks gorgeous. Will try it!
Oh, the poor much maligned radish! (You put a whole new spin… or would it be bunny hop (?) on the this little character.)
Yum.
I’ve never bought or prepared a radish before in my life. However, your description of how the French do it almost has me convinced. (Butter and salt? Love those things.)
I’d have been pleased as punch with those as an appetizer. It’s the perfect way to eat a radish.
This sounds delicious! Bookmarking! I love radishes! I eat them as a snack – or on a piece of cracker with some cream cheese! Yum! Feel back in love with them a year or so ago – great summer treat as so watery and refreshing…though mind you don’t get a mega pungent one – can make your eyes water! xxx
I have never eaten a radish. Ever.
I may try them on bread though. I’m a carb girl. :)
Your suppose to eat radishes? Who knew. I thought they were just colorful rose garnishes. Really. Ok. I am up for the challenge. I will eat a radishe-why is the recipe so looong. Don’t you have a short radish recipe? Bon Appetite? I don’t have walnut oil-juice a walnut? I do have a little goat cheese and some frozen edamame from Cosco?? Oh wait-I just looked again–Frozen edamame will work. Whew. I am exhausted. To heck with Bon Appetite! How did you make those radishes for those guests, again?— Just salt, butter, uncooked? I would even add bread. I love bread.
Off to buy a bag of radishes. :-)
That salad looks really good, actually! I’ll have to try it. My husband makes an awesome salsa with radishes, and that changed my mind about them. So yummy. :)
I love the idea of radishes sliced on a baguette.
…I love the idea of anything on a baguette.
The last time I ate a radish it was at your house! Beautiful styling on the salad by the way!
I wish you were at my house now, eating radishes.
One of my earliest memories of food is that the first time I tasted a radish, I liked it (sprinkled with salt) so much that I took the bowlful and a cup of salt out on the front porch and ate until I barfed.
That left only peanut butter and banana sandwiches on my list of stuff worth eating back then.
I wonder if I’m ready for another radish, but this would be a lovely way to try. I notice that you didn’t list salt as one of the primary ingredients. :)
Mary Lee,
You binged on radishes? That’s hilarious! Not for you, though…
I adore radishes! I eat them with butter on bread and now I eat them in this amazing salad!
From my childhood, I remember radishes as something that had a BITE. I avoided them. But then I read that one could ROAST them, so I tried it and that was good. And I tried them raw and their bite wasn’t that bad. But they are not cheap here, so I don’t buy them, but I’m not scared of them anymore so that’s progress.
I actually never had radishes as a kid, and first tried them last year when we got some in our CSA box. The peppery flavor is a little much for me, but I like them sliced up. I made sandwiches last summer with rosemary bread, radishes, butter, and salt, and they were amazing! This salad sounds fantastic… so fresh and spring-like!
I often add radishes to toss salads because they add a bite, a nice zip! I’ve never had them any other way though.
I love radishes. I often will munch down a whole bunch. With just a sprinkle of salt? Delicious!
I recently heard about some wacky new trend where they are sauted. Any truth to this? If so, you can bet I’ll be there to check it out. :)
Tom, you are correct! Lots of people are now sauteeing, braising and roasting radishes. I’m intrigued but a little afraid.
Hmmm…butter and salt? Somehow I think I’d try anything dipped in butter and sprinkled with salt. Though I am disappointed that you forgot the bread. WHO FORGETS THE BREAD?
Ew. That’s all I have. Radishes. Ew. :) I can’t even pretend like I might try them.
I have never eaten a radish and plan on keeping it that way. *runs*
Winn’s radishmilkshake is giving me the skeevies. It’s looking at me funny. *pulls blanket over head*
You got me with the goat cheese. That magic elixer makes everything wonderful. I will try this. For you.
Also, your writing at Mommypants was amazing. Your talent inspires me.
Awww. Thank you, Nancy.
This is too funny — I love radishes, and my squeeze hates them. The last time I bought a bunch at the farmers market, I ended up eating them all — raw, salted — in one sitting. Which, for the record, really does a number on a gal’s stomach, ugggh.
It sounds like you’re 100% my type of hostess, though!
I’m not a fan if radishes, but that is one gorgeous salad.
Young Bibb lettuce with green onions and thinly sliced radishes, dressed with a simple vinaigrette was the harbinger of spring when I was growing up in Serbia. We would often have, as a crunchy side, small radishes that we would dip in salt (but no butter – I feel cheated now!)
My husband refused for years to buy radishes, trying to convince me that every time he planted or bought them, he had to move (wha?)
Now we WANT to move, and radishes are a constant in our fridge:) Our youngest just loves them.
I like your salad – another great way to use radishes:) And I LOVE goat cheese!
Your salad looks wonderful – toasted walnuts, crumbled goat cheese, and radishes…sound heavenly!
I love radishes!!! I had some slices last night with our dinner. My kids think they are spicy and do not like them and have banned me from planting them in our garden this year. LOL! Radishes are a popular garnish with Mexican dishes, kinda like avocado slices and cilantro. All ingredients I can’t live without. Yum!
*hands over ears*
Noooooooooo! I can’t! Radishes are scary!
I am kinda “eh” about the radish (and yeah, I can’t remember the last time I had one on purpose)…but this dish looks so tasty that I’ll definitely try it out!
I fear the radish.
I may be your only commenter that eats radishes on a regular basis. We grew up eating radishes with an Indian dish called kitchri (lentils and rice dish). I will definitely check out the salad. Especially since I am already a fan of the radish.
I thought I hated radishes…that is, until we grew them in our garden and I saw my dad eating them fresh out of the ground. I got up enough nerve and realized I loved them. You are so right. Nothing like fresh, spring radishes.
Wait a minute…radishes don’t need defending…they are WONDERFUL. I eat a couple every day at work for lunch and they are one of my favorite things to munch on! Thanks for what looks like a great recipe!
Ahh! Radishes! We used to have them with salt, olive oil and a bit of vinegar when they are in season. My dad liked them when they had a bit of zing to them. Alas, I am the only radish eater in this house…I just might have to make this for just me…Beautiful pictures!
i’ve been eying radishes, trying to build up the courage to serve them again. you’re right. I haven’t had these since my childhood. Mom served the with iceberg lettuce and Wishbone salad dressing. That’s probably why I don’t associate deliciousness with them. OK, I’ll try them. I’m convinced. Too funny!