This past week, I picked my first of 26 weekly shares of vegetables from Golden Earthworm Organic Farm.
I started this writing in this blog, in earnest, after my CSA farm share season had ended last year. But this regular supply of truly fresh, unique, and beautiful produce is a major source of inspiration for “Make Haste Not Waste.” Each week, I feel compelled to take advantage of every vegetable.
I knew that the beginning of the season meant that I would be faced with at least one thing I wasn’t excited about: radishes.
It’s not that I hate radishes — there are very few foods I truly hate — but they don’t do much for me. They are more likely to elicit “ehhhhhh” than “mmmmm.”
In advance, I started collecting every recipe I can across that used radishes in an interesting way: I have recipes for radish butter, chicken, arugula, and radish pizza, and sesame cucumber and radishes. My hunch was correct: radishes were included in this first share.
The first time around, I went with a salad recipe that would utilize lettuce greens that were also included in the share and which have a shorter shelf life.
Radish Salad with Goat Cheese
adapted from Cooking Light, April 2013
2 servings
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
1.5 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 – 1 teaspoon honey – I like my salad dressing a little sweet, especially when dealing with the slightly spicy/bitter flavor of radish
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1 cup radishes, sliced lengthwise into 1/4-inch wedges, leaving on root and 1/2 inches of stem
1.5 teaspoons fresh oregano, chopped
2 cups mixed lettuce greens, or baby spinach
4 tablespoons goat cheese, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground, or to taste
Combine first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring well.
Add radishes and oregano; toss to coat.
Divide lettuce between 2 plates. Using a slotted spoon, top each plate with 1/2 cup radishes. Sprinkle each with 2 tablespoons cheese and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Drizzle remaining dressing evenly over salads.
You know what? I was fine with the radishes in this dish. The assertive flavors of oregano and vinegar stood out more. In fact, I think my reaction to eating this salad might have been closer to “mmmm” than “ehhh.”
Still, I’ll probably be keeping my eye out for a recipe that hides radishes in a cake 🙂
makehastenotwaste.com 
Have you tried just radishes with (good) butter and a little salt? It’s not the healthiest, but very French, and very delicious! The fat and the spice complement each other nicely!
I haven’t tried that! Thanks for the suggestion. Sounds like a good excuse to snag some good butter, or to try making it from scratch 🙂 It reminds me of when you were visiting recently and I threw together some cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches with a little sea salt.
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