Let My Radishes Into Your Club
I’ve been trying to pitch recipe ideas to food publications lately. Keeping the dream of being a professional food writer-abouter alive! This is a recipe I dreamed up recently, trying to think of something bougie but simple that a food magazine would like. Nobody’s picked it up yet, but if this blog mysteriously disappears later, you know I got some good news!
Radishes are one of the few vegetables that remains in season through fall and winter. They’re an ingredient that chefs love, but the general population seems to regard with suspicion. Most people only think of them as a salad topper, if they think of them at all.
While I love the zippy crunch of raw radishes, roasting softens their texture and brings out their natural sweetness, mellowing the astringency that some people don’t care for. Also, the sauce on these would make a boot taste good, so this recipe is perfect for converting radish haters, if that’s something you’re trying to do for some reason.
Roasted Radishes With Lemon-Black Butter Sauce And Crispy Capers
9 radishes
3 tbsp butter
Juice of half a lemon
1-2 tbsp capers
Celery leaves or flat leaf parsley
Preheat your oven to 400F
Cut your radishes in half from root to tip. Heat up a little olive oil in an oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. You want enough radishes to be able to fill your pan with them in one layer, with a little gap in between the radishes to allow steam to escape so you get a good sear. For my 9 inch cast iron skillet, that’s 9 radishes.
Place the radishes cut side down in your skillet, and sear them on that side until they’re deeply browned, 5-10 minutes. Flip them over and season generously with salt and pepper. Put them in your preheated oven and roast until a fork slides in pretty easily, around 20 minutes.
While your radishes are roasting, melt the butter in your smallest skillet or pot over medium-low heat. Throw the drained capers into the butter as it’s melting. The goal here is to fry the capers while you brown the butter. It can be a little hard to see what’s happening, but the capers are done when they kind of “pop” or bloom and turn a little bit darker. The butter is done when the white milk solids turn a nutty brown color. In my experience, the capers will be done around the time the butter is browned.
Fish the capers out with a slotted spoon, reserving the butter in the pan. Drain your crispy capers on a paper towel. Squeeze the lemon juice into your brown butter and cook until most of the bubbling subsides, then remove from the heat. You have now created black butter, one of the most delicious substances known to creation. It’s good on pretty much everything.
When the radishes are tender, remove them from the oven and drizzle them with your black butter sauce. Garnish with the crispy capers and parsley or celery leaves. If using celery leaves, choose only the light yellow ones from the center of the bunch, as they are less tough and bitter than the green ones. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
I’ve never seen such good lookin’ radishes
These radishes are good as a hot side dish, and are also great served room temperature on top of salad greens. They would also be excellent on top of a piece of grilled bread spread with ricotta. Let your imagination run wild!
