I made this recipe one day when Lindsay was sick and we didn’t have much in the house, just some radishes left over from our farm share and some butter in the freezer left over from the 5 lb block that Lindsay had used to make croissants. Was it simple? Yes. Kind of boring? Maybe. But it was easy and it was fast, which is good because I have been crazy busy with work since Christmas, and didn’t have Lindsay to assist. And it was tasty. And used up the radishes.
If you have fresh radishes with the greens still on, leave about a half-inch of stem on the radishes. It will give it a nice flavor. Also, save the greens to cook another time; they are completely edible. We only had one bunch of red radishes, but we had one very lage black radish, and a bunch of small turnips. The mix worked very well.
Butter-Glazed Braised Radishes
Makes 2 servings
| Amount | Ingredient | Preparation | Where we bought it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 pound | Radishes | ~ 2 bunches or ~2 dozen | Red Fire Farm CSA |
| 1/3 cup | Stock or broth | Veggie or chicken, or water | |
| Large pinch | Sugar | ||
| As desired | Kosher salt | ||
| As desired | Black pepper | Freshly ground |
Directions
- Scrub and clean the radishes. Cut off the root at the tip, and the stem stump if it’s old. (If they are fresh, leave some of the stem on.) Cut the radishes into even pieces. About 50% of my radishes were about the diameter of a quarter, and I left those whole. The next larger ones (silver dollar?) I cut in half. The black radish was about two inches in diameter, so I cut that one up into 8 equal pieces.
- Put the radishes in a single layer in a skillet (I like cast iron). If it’s not big enough, move to a larger skillet. Add everything else (butter, liquid, sugar, salt and pepper).
- Turn the heat on to medium and bring everything to a simmer (slow roiling and bubbling but not boiling). Then turn the heat down to low / medium low and cover, for 20 minutes.
- Remove the lid and shuffle everything around to coat with the glaze that will have formed. Let it simmer for another five minutes. The radishes should be soft enough to skewer easily. Add additional salt and pepper to taste, if desired.
