Who Knew?

After coming home to yet another big bunch of radishes ready to pull in the garden, it was time to branch out. Until now I've always thought of radishes as those strong flavored things you only need a few of, sliced up thin and put on your salads. But, now that I use so many in my companion plantings (they are good deterrents to many pests) I need to use up a whole lot more of them. And throwing out all those green tops always seemed like such a waste!

Well, after much searching and reviewing different recipes and recommendations, I discovered that the greens can be used too. Who knew! Cuz' I sure didn't! Well then, I decided to cook them the way I cook chard. I snipped off the radish tail and the top stem and sliced the root into quarter-inch segments and tossed them in a saute pan with a little olive oil to begin heating on med high. Then I cut the lower part of the stem off the leaves, washed them thoroughly and gave them a rough chop. They are a bit fuzzy/prickly which can be a little off-putting but, fear not. The fuzzy/prickles seemed to disappear when cooked. Then I threw the roughly chopped (still damp) greens on top of the roots which were now hissing a little in the pan. I sauted the whole lot until the greens were wilted and the radish roots had become a little translucent. Then I drizzled in a little balsamic vinegar, tossed in a few dried cranberries and called it done. The roots had mellowed and no longer had that strong flavor but held up well to the balsamic and the sweet tartness of the cranberries. All in all a delicious way to serve radishes and we're looking forward to having more for lunch tomorrow.