RECIPES

Vegetable of the Week - Radishes and Young Turnips
Harvest Week - June 18th, 2007

 

Radishes and Young Turnips
With their bright colors, tidy size, and zesty, satisfying flavor, radishes might make a fun snack food for your family. Sliced or grated, radishes add a wonderful fresh-peppery note to a large range of salads and dishes -- yes, even cooked. Tender young turnips often have a mild flavor and a delectable, juicy crispness that can be enjoyed raw, much like a radish. Young turnips are also wonderful cooked, especially in simple recipes that highlight their delicate taste and texture.

STORAGE
Remove radish or turnip leaves if they are still attached. Refrigerate
the unwashed greens in a loosely wrapped plastic
bag. Store turnips and radishes dry and unwashed
in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to a week.

 

Young Turnip Salad with
Apples and Lemon Dressing
Raw young turnips are sweet, with a tender-firm crunch. In this refreshing salad, lemon juice and tart, crispy apples accentuate both of these qualities. For a sweet treat, try tossing in some raisins, or top with chopped and freshly toasted pecans or walnuts. Friend of the Farm.
Makes about 2 cups

1 cup peeled and grated raw young turnips (about 2 medium turnips)
1 cup peeled and grated tart apples (Granny Smith or greenings) (about 1 large apple)
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Toss the turnips, apples, parsley, lemon juice, and vegetable oil in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

HANDLING
Scrub radishes and young turnips well to remove any lingering dirt. Trim off the stems and rootlets. Slice, chop, or mince the roots or leave them whole.

Sautéed Radishes with Hard-Cooked Eggs and Spiced Yogurt Sauce
This dish is based on a recipe from Nepal. Cooked radishes add their peppery succulence to pieces of hard-cooked egg in an intricately flavored, currylike yogurt sauce. Served at room temperature with basmati rice on the side, this makes a marvelous lunch or dinner. Friend of the Farm.
Serves 4

6 large hard-cooked eggs, halved, each half quartered
1 scallion, chopped
salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons ghee or butter, divided
1 bunch radishes (about 1/2 pound), quartered
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon crushed coriander seeds
1 teaspoon crushed sesame seeds
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/4 cups plain yogurt
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon (about 3 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon paprika

1. Arrange the hard-cooked egg pieces in a shallow serving dish. Scatter the scallion over the eggs and season with salt and pepper.

2. Melt 1 tablespoon of the ghee or butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the radishes; cook, stirring, until tender, about 8 minutes. Transfer the radishes to a plate and set aside to cool.

3. Let the skillet cool for a couple minutes, then return it to the stove over low heat. Melt the remaining ghee or butter in the skillet. Add the cardamom, coriander, sesame seeds, and cumin; cook, stirring constantly to prevent them from burning, until they are fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes. Scrape the spices into a small bowl and set aside to cool.

4. Put the yogurt in a medium bowl. If it is firm yogurt, beat it vigorously with a fork or whisk until creamy. Add the cooled spices, cilantro, lemon juice, and paprika; stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Arrange the cooked radishes over the eggs and scallions in the serving dish. Pour the yogurt sauce evenly over the dish. Serve immediately.

Forces in Food
If one needs to stimulate one's thinking then one should
use especially the salty stimulant of the radish for instance.
If someone is not very active in the head it is good for him
to add some radish to his food which will activate his
thoughts a little. So you see the strange fact emerges: One
can say radishes stimulate thinking. And one does not
even need to be very active oneself, the thoughts simply
come when one eats radishes -- such strong thoughts that
they even generate powerful dreams.
-- Rudolf Steiner, from Nutrition and Stimulants

[ Excerpted from Farmer John's Cookbook: The Real Dirt On Vegetables: Seasonal Recipes and Stories from a Community Supported Farm by Farmer John Peterson & Angelic Organics (Gibbs Smith Publisher). Check with your local farm or bookstore for availability. Additional recipes, charts, indvidual copies of this book, and quantity discounts available at www.AngelicOrganics.com/cookbook.]

See: http://www.angelicorganics.com/Newsletters/2007NLWeek02Print.pdf

 

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