Today was the first day of the season for the farmer’s market in my neighborhood. The five of us meandered over the hill in the sunshine, with frequent breaks for ant-watching, water-drinking, and rock-, stick-, and leaf-collecting (“for our nature collections!”). The round trip, about three miles, took nearly four hours. To mix metaphors rather unforgivably (forgive me!), we were living the good life in the slow lane.
I think I expected to find a few beat-up storage carrots, early radishes, and a lot of dried apples, but I was pleasantly surprised. Those farmers have not been lollygagging about in their gardens as I have. There were tables brimming with greens, radishes, turnips, leeks, rainbow chard, and rabes! Plus plenty of baked goods, of course, and delicious local honey. I wanted one of everything but I contented myself with a few big bags of veggies (we could only hang so many bags off the stroller and still have room for children).
I realized a few years ago that, to my surprise, I had grown to love radishes. Eating them with good butter and flaky salt is one of life’s simple pleasures. Even if you don’t think you love radishes, give it a try sometime. You might be pleasantly surprised to find that you love a new vegetable.
Recipe for Radishes with Butter and Salt: Just kidding. Crisp radishes, good butter, flaky salt. Enjoy.
Emmy Cooks 
reminds me of my mom. a favorite snack of hers.
Nice, I like things that remind me of my mom. :)
Radishes are on my list this season! I tend to get stuck buying the same veggies over and over (I’m in my KAle mood at the moment) and I’ve decided to experiment and add a few new veggies in the mix!
xo
Jocelyn
You can’t go wrong with kale. But if you’re branching out, can I recommend little spring turnips as well? They are so sweet, and make amazing soup!
Sounds delicious! Never tried that before! One of my favorite ways to eat radishes is to saute them with green beans. The color contrast is beautiful and the radishes develop a sweeter flavor when cooked.
Sounds great! I do like cooked radishes because of the sweeter flavor–and pinker color! :) They’d be beautiful with green beans, great tip.
Radishes will be in our CSA this spring and all I know to do with them is throw them in a salad and then be the only one who eats them. Thanks for this idea!
We get tons from our garden & CSA as well. I also like to sauté them in butter–it mellows the flavor considerably (meaning now they just taste like butter) and if you braise them a bit they turn pink (popular with little girls). :)
PINK. BRILLIANT.
Very French. This is really my favorite way to eat radishes!
Did you see David Liebovitz’s post about French radishes recently? I will get around to pickling some this year, but these tender little beauties I just have to munch right down. :)
I did! He’s just the best. Have you been following his apartment renovations? I think it’s hysterical that he keeps baking for the workmen. So not French!
Huh. Never thought of putting butter on them. I’ll give it a try once the radishes come up in the garden. The husband might look at me like Im crazy, but Im getting used to it.
It does sound a little wrong, but it tastes oh so right. :)
Yes, radishes with butter and salt! They’re so tasty. I wish I’d grown up eating these for snacks–but alas, the 80s were definitely the age of margarine.
So true! Maybe that’s why I like butter so much now. :)
I love to discover that I like a vegetable that I thought I didn’t like! Radishes are OK, but I’ve never tried them with butter and salt. Something to try… Thanks for the suggestion :-)
I agree! I feel like every year I discover a new vegetable to love. Radishes were a few years ago for me, and turnips the year after that. I remember when I got my first CSA more than a decade ago and learned to love kale! I wonder what it will be this year….
Radishes are one of those vegetable I never liked, but haven’t gotten the urge to defeat that yet. Last year I went on a beet campaign and finally defeated that dislike (beets are fabulous pickled raw, or roasted with garlic). Maybe it is time for radishes. After all, everything is better with butter.
Funny! I loved beets for a long time but during my last pregnancy they suddenly sounded horrible to me (that was the ONLY food aversion I had) and I haven’t really regained enthusiasm for them. I am going to have to try again this summer, since we always get tons of beets in our CSA. Roasting them with garlic sounds good–something savory to mellow out their super sweetness!
I’ve tried that and liked the butter and salt better than the radishes ;-). They’re just not my thing, but my they are stunning, aren’t they? Almost worth growing just to have them around looking so beautiful.
We grow them because they’re so quick and satisfying–just a few weeks and the kids can be pulling something big out of the ground!
I have never liked radishes before, but I trust you. I’ll give them a try this way. I have made several of your recipes and they turned out so wonderful that I couldn’t help but give you a Versatile Blogger Award!
http://alwaysaddmorebutter.wordpress.com/2012/04/23/versatile-blogger-award/
What a nice compliment, I’m so glad to hear that you’ve been enjoying cooking along! Thank you!
Just the way I like them!
I absolutely love radishes this way! I thought it was just an English thing. A great flaky sea salt and fresh butter is key though.
Now I love radishes, never though of the butter and salt. Did see it on Barefoot Contessa before and thought hmmm. May have to give it a go. :)