Friday, August 6, 2010

Roasted Radish Review

Ever since reading about them in The New York Times, Tom and I have been wanting to make roasted radishes. I had tried them at the Westside Market a few weeks ago, but personally thought they were undercooked -- they were still crisp, and I was hoping for more caramelization. I tend to prefer my vegetables "overcooked" to most people's minds, but more like "meltingly tender" to my own.

So over the past weekend, Tom (who adores radishes!) and I took some and pan-roasted them rather than turning on the oven. We'd been planning to do this, talking about doing this ... it was about time to get it done!

And the process was ridiculously simple: I cut the radishes in halves or in quarters, depending upon their size, so that the pieces were about the size of large olives. I placed them into a bowl and tossed them with about 1 tablespoon of light olive oil and a pinch each of salt and pepper.

Then I placed them in a frying pan over medium heat and just let them cook, stirring and flipping them over every so often to keep them from getting burned.


The radishes cooked for oh, maybe 20 minutes until they were tender when pierced with a knife and they were a deep golden brown. An adjustment of seasoning (a.k.a.: adding a pinch more salt), and there they were!

I let Tom taste them first, and he said: "It mellows out the radish, takes the bite away. Not what you'd expect ...." He loved them!

And they are different than you'd expect. I'm not a huge fan of radishes, unless they're in salads and have some dressing on them; I find them either bland or bitter, rarely anything in between. But once they'd been cooked and caramelized, all of that was gone; they were almost kinda starchy. I would absolutely make these tender tidbits again.

So don't just think of radishes as a garnish or a fresh, crisp vegetable to color a salad bowl. They made a fabulous warm dish that I would never have considered on my own. Try 'em -- you'll like 'em!




11 comments:

Rachel (Diary of a Recovering Chocoholic) said...

I never thought about roasting them! I'm not a big fan either, but they are all over South Korea and usually pickled- double ick. But I wouldn't mind giving roasted ones a shot.

Team Chastain said...

I am going to give this a shot. I have a bag full of fresh radishes in the fridge now. :)

Cranberry Morning said...

You've got to be kidding! I never would have thought of doing anything to radishes but washing them and popping them into my mouth. This does sound interesting. I've gotta try it! :-)

Unknown said...

I'm as shocked as everyone else.. I never thought to roast radishes! I so adore them, I will have to try this for sure.

Anonymous said...

This is why I love this blog so much. Who would ever have thought to roast radishes. I'm not a big fan of them either but this does look like it'd makd a great side dish. Thank you, another great find.

Haupi

Andrea the Kitchen Witch said...

NO way! They look delicious, Mary!! My daughter has planted & grown radishes in the garden this year - much to my dismay (until reading this post!) cause I'm not a radish fan. but I am a caramelized ANYTHING fan :) Now I know what to do with our radishes, thanks!

Robin said...

I might try this. I am not a fan of the radish. It's too strong for me. However, if this mellows it out, it might be okay...

Candace said...

My husband loves radishes; but I have never been a fan. You have me looking at them in a whole new light now. I must give these a try!

Have a wonderful weekend!
Candace

Aleksandra Nearing said...

How interesting! Now, I love radishes raw. I haven't had them in ages since no one else in my house cares for them...although with my 3-year old being a veggie-holic, I will have to buy them soon!

TGIF!!!!

Karen Mortensen said...

I love radishes but only thought you could eat them raw. I will have to try this.

StephenC said...

Lidia Bastianich introduced me to sauteed radishes - including the greens! For some reason supermarket radish greens are dull, but organic ones are great. You just treat them like any other green in a saute.


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