The lonely Radish....

I have always look at the radish as the most overlooked jewel in the garden. No body seems to talk about this little red peppery deliciousness! You don't often see it appear of menus at restaurants , you don't even see it mentioned in most recipes, and the few that do mention the use of a radish is generally as a garnish.
Well This is now as it was growing up one of my favorite veggies. On Sunday Mornings Nonno Giovanni, used to come by with a fresh rabbit my mom would braise and a bag filled with his fresh garden pickings.  The bright colored red pearls bought my eyes as a young child, my dad sliced them thinly in a bowl alongside some nice crispy cucumbers, a drizzle of oil, salt and red wine vinegar...and I was a happy camper. I still crave radish salads quite often. This made me think that there must be more one can do with a radish...so much more!
so here are a few dishes inspired by the peppery radish.

Wilted watercress and buttery Radishes:

Ingredients:

2 bunches of red radishes- quartered or cut smaller.

1 generous tablespoon of unsalted butter

1 large garlic clove smashed

2 bunches of organic watercress

Fresh ground pepper and salt to taste

Cooking Instructions:

melt the butter in a hot skillet. Add the radishes and  sauté until tender, about 8 minutes. Add the smashed garlic clove and stir. Allow the garlic to become very fragrant but not brown, about 3 to the minutes. Then add the watercress, fresh ground pepper and salt to taste, stir until evenly wilted, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately, and as always, enjoy it. 

Radish salad with fresh mint and organic valencia oranges:

Ingredients:

1 large bunch of radishes, thinly sliced

1/2 sweet onion, thinly sliced

1 organic valencia orange - peeled and sliced

a nice handful of fresh mint leaves, coarsely chopped

fresh ground pepper and salt

2 tbs of lemon juice

1 tbs of extra virgin olive oil

Cooking instructions:

Peel the orange and cut each orange section out of the pith. In a bowl combine the radishes, the onion and the orange sections then sprinkle them with the mint leaves. Season with the lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste and enjoy.