The Radish Special
Three ways with the surprisingly versatile root
It’s radish season! They’re always an excellent crisp addition to spring and summer salads, or vehicle for swiping up dips and salted butter. But the humble radish can do so much more than that. The following recipes work best with regular round/spring radishes or breakfast radishes.
Radishes & butter beans
An excellent addition to any table, swipe at it with bread or serve with a side of grains.
Recipe
Makes 2-4 portions as a side
700g jar butter beans (no need to drain)
150g bunch radishes, trimmed and quartered - any radish greens washed and roughly chopped (if your radishes don’t come with greens use a handful of parsley or baby spinach)
1 large shallot, finely diced
1 large lemon
5 sprigs thyme
Salt & pepper
Olive oil
Place a large saucepan over a medium heat with a good glug of olive oil. Add the shallots and sweat until softened. Stir in the beans (no need to drain) and lemon juice. Stir until the beans are creamy and the sauce has thickened (if necessary add a splash of water and continue cooking). Season to taste
Spoon half the beans into a blender and blitz smooth
Stir the radish greens into the remaining beans. Warm through until the greens have wilted
Meanwhile place a wide frying pan over a medium heat with a little oil. Add the radishes to the pan. Stir until well-coloured on all sides. Add thyme and salt to the pan towards the end of cooking
Spoon the puréed beans on a serving plate, top with the remaining beans and radishes
Radish, cucumber & cous cous salad
Crisp cucumber and radish with a cool minty yoghurt base. Makes a lovely light and bright sunny day salad or an excellent side dish for barbecue season.
