what you should know
Crisp, earthy radishes grow underground before being dug up by their (also edible) leaves.
Raw, this root vegetable is pungent and peppery. To temper radishes, simply sauté, steam or braise them.
spring and summer Dainty fairweather radishes like the Cherry Belle or French Breakfast come in shades of pink, red, purple and white. (Some even come inside-out: white-skinned and pink-hearted.)
fall and winter Common is Eastern Europe, the black radish has rough, dark skin, bright, white flesh and a bite almost as sharp as horseradish. Another cool-weather radish, daikon, is carrot-shaped and parsnip-colored, but tastes like a summer radish.
morning cup Skip the O.J. and load up on radishes -- a great source of vitamin C.
divine Radishes were so prized in ancient Greece that worshipers left tiny gold models of the root as offerings to Apollo.
root vs. beer While true radish-lovers may have been lured to this 19th-century radish feast by the roots themselves, we suspect that most people were there for the beer.
what you need
Jane Grigson will provide you with answers to all your lingering questions about radishes (and any other salad ingredient) in her Vegetable Book.
What can a radish teach you about life and living it? Find out in this enlightening book by a Zen monk.
Have you noticed a crop of radish earrings? You can thank Harry Potter for that.
what you do
Give radishes an Italian twist by wrapping them in prosciutto.
A pickled radish salad is mighty refreshing alongside a rich, meaty skirt steak.
Creamy avocado balances the peppery bite of the radish in this colorful salad.
Glazed red pearl onions and pink-and-white radishes make a nice companion for a roasted bird.
Juicy beef, crisp romaine, crumbly cheese and crunchy radishes -- it's the perfect taco.
Roast veal next to radishes for a hearty dinner of tender meat and juicy vegetables.
Featured: The classic French combination of radishes and butter may strike you as odd, but after a bite you'll see why its balance of crunchy, sharp, salty and buttery flavors works so well.
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