Radishes with Butter and Salt
Recipe courtesy of Ina Garten
Ina Garten takes the French tradition of eating fresh radishes with butter and salt a step further in this springtime favorite by using an herbed butter. Use good French bread as an accompaniment, either plain or toasted.
Faith - note: When I was young, my mother would serve fresh radishes and green onions with salt; try adding some green onions to the dish.
2 bunches radishes with the tops intact
Sea salt
Good salted butter or Herbed Butter, recipe follows
1 French baguette, sliced diagonally, and lightly toasted
Arrange the radishes on a bed of sea salt. Spread the butter on slices of toasted bread and arrange artfully on a platter. Serve at room temperature.
Herbed Butter:
1/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons minced scallions
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh dill
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley leaves
1/2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
Combine all the ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on low speed until combined. Do not whip.
Nose-to-Tail Radishes with Radish Leaf Pesto
From Dorie Greenspan's website
Dorie Greenspan is know for her cookbook, Around My French Table. She calls these radishes "Nose-to-Tail Radishes."
"As my friend Cédric demonstrated the other night, there's a way to cut, butter and salt the radishes and it's the way his father used to do it (and probably the way it's been done forever throughout France). After you've lopped off the leaves, keeping a couple of inches of stem, and rinsed the radishes, the rest is simple: slice off the root, cut the radish in half to the base, taking care not to separate the pieces, put some softened butter in the slit, press the halves together so that some of the butter pops out the sides and then dip the radish lightly in a saucer of salt (fleur de sel is nice here). It's truly a treat.
The idea behind buttering radishes is not dissimilar to that of having butter with Roquefort cheese – the butter tones down the strong flavors. It's a little trick the French play to bring foods into balance and it works."
