Roasted Radishes w/ Garlic & Thyme

At a recent trip to an Indian restaurant, I had a delicious dish of tomatoes, potatoes and radishes. I'd never had anything but raw radishes before (in fact, I'd never even contemplated cooked radishes), but they were really good; the cooking makes them a lot less bitter. After reading this article in the NYTimes about roasted radishes, I decided to try something new.

The result was awesome! After a slow roast in the oven with a drizzle of olive oil, cracked whole garlic cloves, lots of thyme, and salt and pepper, the radishes were sweet but still a tad bit crunchy, and absolutely delicious. I could barely resist eating the whole batch at once.

Note: The first time I made this, I trimmed all of the radishes (the fuzzy tops don't appeal to me). The second time, I didn't feel like trimming them. I should have (the tops bothered me; weird, I know), but feel free to use your discretion. You can also substitute out 1 lb of radishes for 1 lb of quartered baby potatoes. They don't look too pretty but they taste great!

Tip for removing thyme from the stem: Drag your fingertips down from the top of the stalk down to the bottom so you are removing the leaves without breaking the stem at the same time; this works great for rosemary too.

Roasted Radishes w/ Garlic & Thyme

Ingredients:

2 lbs radishes, cleaned and trimmed
5 garlic cloves, cracked and peeled
3 Tbsp fresh thyme
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp cracked black pepper

Directions:

1. Place radishes in a 9x13 inch baking pan (you can use 2 smaller pans if necessary, try and make sure they are roughly in a single layer).
2. Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with spices, and toss to coat.
3. Roast at 375 degrees for 60-75 minutes until skin is wrinkled and radishes are tender.

The cost:
radishes: 1.98
thyme: 1.99

Grand total: $3.97

Dinner Party (Part 1 of 5): Cucumber, Fennel & Radish Salad

I hadn't hosted a meal in a while, so I decided to host a dinner party last night--thanks to both JG's, JK, LM, and RK for letting me cook for them, and especially to AK for washing the mountain dishes :).

The menu was:

Cucumber, Fennel & Radish Salad (Recipe Remix from this)
Twice Baked Parsnip & Sweet Potato Mash w/ Pecan Streusel Topping
Balsamic Glazed Chickpeas w/ Red Swiss Chard
Coconut Curry Chicken
Banana Nut Cake w/ Candied Walnuts (Recipe Remix from this Recipe Remix)

Sorry, you won't get all of the recipes today--but check back, because you'll get one recipe a day for the rest of the week!

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Recipe Remix: Cucumber, Fennel & Radish Salad

Ingredients:

1 large fennel bulb + 1 Tbsp fennel fronds
8 radishes
1 English cucumber
1 orange bell pepper
zest of one lemon
juice of 2 lemons
1/2 tsp honey or agave
2 tsp vegetable oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. Cut fennel bulb in half and peel off outer layer. Slice thinly into half-rounds (I used my mandolin). Slice radishes and cucumber into thin rounds, and julienne the orange pepper.
2. Blend together lemon zest & juice, oil, honey/agave, salt & pepper and pour over salad veggies. Serve immediately.

The cost:
fennel: 2.29
radishes: .89
cucumber: 2.00
pepper: 1.00 (on sale $1 each)
lemons: .78

Grand total: $6.96; serves 8

Cucumber & Radish Salad w/ Ginger-Lime Dressing

This is a play off of the fennel salad I made a few weeks ago. I haven't really used radish until recently, but now that I've started I can't seem to stop! It's crisp and fresh, and just bitter enough to wake your taste buds up. I've paired it here with a sweet & sour dressing to cut the bitterness just a bit.

Note: Radish can be very bitter; I like to buy ones that have been packaged rather than those still attached to the root because they have a milder flavor.

Cucumber & Radish Salad w/ Ginger-Lime Dressing

Ingredients:

12 radishes, cleaned
2 cucumbers, washed
2 scallions, chopped
zest of 1 lime
juice of 2 limes
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 tsp honey
1 tsp vegetable oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 cup walnuts, toasted (optional)

Directions:

1. Slice radishes and cucumbers thinly (I use my mandolin). Place in bowl with the scallions.
2. Blend remaining ingredients and pour over vegetables.
3. Sprinkle toasted walnuts over salad just before serving.

Tip: Jazz up your cucumber by sticking the tines of a fork in a few centimeters, and then dragging the fork down the length of the cucumber. When you cut slices, you'll get pretty little flowers!

The cost:
radishes: 1.29
cucumber (on sale .77 each): 1.54
scallions: .20
limes: .34
ginger: .15
nuts: .45

Grand total: $3.97; serves 4-6

Fennel Salad with Zesty Lemon Dressing

Sometimes I get bored with conventional salads, so for Shabbat lunch this week I got a little adventurous and made a salad with fennel, radishes, cucumber and pear, and tied everything together with a zesty lemon dressing. It was, in a word, divine, and much more fun than a regular salad.

A note about fennel: When buying fennel, you want to make sure it isn't dried out, because then it loses its beautiful licorice flavor. As with most vegetables, make sure the white bulb isn't turning brown or pulling away from the center, and check to make sure the fronds aren't getting dried out or moldy.

Fennel Salad with Zesty Lemon Dressing

Ingredients:

2 fennel bulbs
8 radishes
1 cucumber
1 pear
2 scallions, cleaned and chopped
zest of one lemon
juice of 2 lemons
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp white pepper
2 fennel fronds
1/4 cup walnuts, toasted

Directions:

1. Remove the celery-like stalks from the white fennel bulb and discard, reserving two fronds (dill-looking fluffy stuff on top).
2. Slice fennel, radishes and cucumber into thin rounds (I used a mandolin but you can also just use a knife). Cut the pear flesh away from the core and slice thinly. Place everything in a large bowl and add scallions.
   
3. In a small bowl, blend lemon zest, lemon juice, vinegar, oil, salt, garlic powder, pepper and fennel fronds.
   
4. Dress salad and sprinkle in nuts just before serving.

The cost:
fennel: 3.62
radishes: .88
cucumber: 1.00
pear: .49
scallions: .15
lemons: 1.18
walnuts: .40

Grand total: $7.72; serves 6-8