SUPER SIMPLE RADISH SALAD WITH CREME FRAICHE

A few months back, Paul and I went to a dinner at Camino celebrating David Tanis' latest book, One Good Dish. The entire meal was delicious, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about one brilliantly simple dish that really spoke to me. Radishes - any sort you can get your hands on - are thinly sliced and topped with a dollop of crème fraîche, nice salt and ground black pepper. Crisp, tangy, creamy, salty all at the same time...yes!

If you can find them, I suggest using a variety of radishes in your salad. At Monterey Market, I picked up standard red beauties along with watermelon and black radishes - each added its own distinct flavor and texture.

INGREDIENTS adapted from David Tanis's One Good Dish
printable recipe

• 1/2 pound radishes
• 1/4 cup crème fraîche (see my recipe for homemade crème fraîche)
• optional: a few drops of milk, water or cream
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste (I also like smoked salt as as substitute for the salt and pepper - it's delish!)

Get out your sharpest knife, or mandolin, and slice radishes as thin as possible. With bigger radishes like watermelon or black, you may want to halve or quarter the rounds. Scatter radishes onto individual plates or a larger platter.  Whisk crème fraîche with a few drops of liquid to make it a little loose. Scoop a generous dollop of the runny crème fraîche onto the radishes. Sprinkle smoked salt, or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper over the entire dish. That was easy, right?

Serves 4
  
The days are getting longer, birds have returned to our garden, our fruit trees are leafing out, and asparagus has come to the farmer's market. I don't know about you, but I get a jolt of childlike glee every time I see a new sign that spring is on its way! 

A SALAD FOR THE EDIBLE SCHOOLYARD {+ my little video on how to supreme an orange}

Alice Waters' original Edible Schoolyard is a five minute walk from our house. For years, we've taken early evening strolls through the garden, ogling the vast array of plants, herbs, fruit trees - all inspiring our own tiny backyard veggie garden.

When our boy Otis was getting ready to enter middle school two years ago, we couldn't resist King. We wanted Otis to have the freedom to safely roam our neighborhood, ride his bike to school, have local friends, and be a part of our community school. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that the Edible Schoolyard was a huge draw for us in making this change.  King kids are fortunate enough to have classes in both the Kitchen and Garden programs associated with the Schoolyard.  Every time I visit, I'm stunned to see a huge group of middle schoolers not messing around or worrying about being cool, but totally focused and invigorated about cooking, gardening, eating, and learning. I've never seen adolescents so excited about vegetables! Who wouldn't want their child to have this invaluable education... an education which instills a passion for learning that permeates all aspects of the school, way beyond the Garden and Kitchen.

King kids know they're lucky to have the Schoolyard - I see them taking great pride in knowing where food comes from, and how to grow and cook nourishing food for themselves.  I dream of these King kids becoming parents a generation from now, and the joy and knowledge they will be able to share with their own families - the healthful meals they will cook with their own children.

When my amazing friend Phyllis asked if I'd be interested in teaching a class with her at the Edible Schoolyard to benefit our Berkeley Public Libraries, I immediately said "YES!" On Saturday, we had a blast cooking with 11 adorable kids and their moms, dads, and even a few grandmothers. Phyllis, a pastry master, taught everyone to make sumptuous savory tarts - my oh my were they incredibly good. Then, I worked with the gang on making a deconstructed salad and taught the kids how to whip up a simple vinaigrette in mason jars. Watching all their eager little faces as they shook up salad dressing and ate lettuce like it was candy made my heart swoon. While I always feel lucky to cook with my own kids and their friends, it was totally inspiring for me to cook with this group of kiddos I'd never met. I feel incredibly lucky to have had the tiniest taste of the magic the Edible Schoolyard gets to experience every day. I'm savoring it.

CITRUS, FENNEL, RADISH + PISTACHIO SALAD
 serves 4
{printable recipe}

For the dressing:

• 1 heaping teaspoon Dijon mustard
• generous pinch of good sea salt
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 cup olive oil

For the salad:

• 1/2 pound baby arugula, or butter lettuce
• 1 medium fennel bulb
• 6 radishes
• 8-10 kumquats
• 2 oranges: Cara Cara or blood oranges are my favorites here
• 1 cup roasted salted pistachio, shells removed; or 1/3 cup pepitas
• optional: arugula and/or fennel blossoms

The dressing: First, place all ingredients in a lidded jar. Shake vigorously until dressing has emulsified. Dip a leaf of lettuce into the dressing and add more salt, vinegar, or oil to your liking.

The salad: Wash, fully dry and place your salad greens into a large bowl. (Keep in mind that fully dried leaves will be key to your dressing adhering nicely to the greens later.) Trim and thinly slice fennel bulb and radishes. Slice kumquats thin, leaving skins on. Remove any seeds.

Supreme oranges. (See video at the end of this post.)

Place fennel, radishes, kumquats, orange slices, and pistachios (or pepitas) into individual bowls.

When all of your salad components are prepped, and you’re ready to eat, lightly dress your greens. (Go ahead and use your hands to toss the salad - it's the best way to get a beautiful even coating of dressing on all the leaves.) Place bowls of chopped goodies on the table and let everyone make the salad they desire. Pass around small pitcher of extra dressing in case anyone wants to add another drizzle to his/her plate.


I decided to make a little video for you guys ( my first ever!) showing the simple way to supreme an orange. If you struggle to slice clean segments of citrus and are looking for a little help, I hope this video makes your life easier....

Pickled (Watermelon) Radishes

Otis and I rode our bikes down to Monterey Market to pick up supplies for dinner. We crossed everything off our list and couldn't resist adding a few alluring non-essentials: Watermelon Radishes with a hot pink center and a prehistoric looking Horned Melon.

Never wanting to deny my kids' desire to try something new, we sampled the bizarre Horned Melon right away - the thorny orange skin masked a strange cucumber flavor (its biological cousin) with a gelatinous texture that is difficult to eat because of the huge pumpkin-style seeds throughout. It was clear why this fruit is not one of the most popular around.

On the other hand, the Watermelon Radish was a hit and inspired us to use it a number of ways. One or two of the apple-sized radishes go a long way, and of course I bought five in a impulse buying frenzy. We sliced one when we got home just to admire its beauty and sample the flavor which starts out mild and ends with a spicy kick. Another radish complimented a carnitas supper, and still we ended up with radishes to spare.

P, in his fearless enthusiasm to jar every food we have in abundance, made these incredible pickles. The sweetness of the rice wine vinegar mellows out the radishes, and how beautiful is that color? The Pickled Watermelon Radishes make me want to make a Japanese feast and serve these beauties to nibble on.

This recipe is from Elizabeth Andoh's: Washoku, Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen.


Ingredients

• 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt for sauce, plus 1 more teaspoon for the radishes
• 1 piece kombu
• 3 large Watermelon Radishes (Diakon would work as well)

In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients except radish. Let sit overnight.

Place pan over low heat and dissolve sugar and salt; then slowly bring sauce to just below a boil. Set aside and let sweet and sour sauce cool.

Thinly slice radishes with a mandolin. Combine radish slices and 1 teaspoon of salt in a ceramic or glass jar. Let them sit for 5 minutes undisturbed.

Gently toss radishes with your hands and use your fingertips to squeeze and press the radishes to help them wilt. Pour off extra liquid and rinse radishes quickly under cold water to remove excess salt. Squeeze again.

Put radish slices in an attractive lidded glass jar (I am a huge fan of Weck jars myself) and cover with sauce, making sure radishes are submerged. Let tightly lidded jar sit out for a day or so; the radishes will bleed and the liquid will take on the brilliant rose color of the radish. Then put pickled radishes in the fridge and eat within a week.

I think these would make a gorgeous and unusual gift for a foodie friend who invites you over for supper, or just make them for yourself.