Ideas Please

Icicle radish, globe radish, daikon, pac choi (not boc choi), fresh strawberries. All from the farmers market today. Also, 2 quarts of tart cherries - apparently there's only a two week season for them and this is it. I've already pitted them for pie. I've got about 1 quart of wild black raspberries that a friend of mine picked for me. I'm going to make a cherry/black raspberry clafoutis with those.

Anyway, what are some interesting ideas for radishes. And what is a daikon? Pac choi tastes like a combo of arugula and boc choi - it will probably go into a salad and a stir fry.

Daikon is a very mild radish that is shredded as a garnish with sushi. I never see it any other way, but you could probably experiment.

The other radishes could be steamed until barely cooked through, then finished by slowly braising in butter until they develop a golden hue. Season with salt, white pepper, and sprinkle with minced chives just before serving. They might benefit, too, from a squeeze of lemon.

Thanks Bernard. I remember something about children in France eating radishes and butter + ? as a snack after school. Must be something about butter and radishes. I'm definitely going to give that a shot this weekend. Thanks again.

[Jenise]

Daikon's pretty interesting and popular in a number of Asian dishes. Probably the most common way I've had it is, in Chinese cuisine, made into these wonderful little cakes that are formed/chilled/pan fried, a dish I've attempted to make and failed at miserably thus far. I can't seem to get there from a recipe. Also, like Bernie said, it's served with sushi sometimes. It pickles beautifully--I cut it into juliennes or slice it into paper thin rounds. A quick brine of water, vinegar, mirin (Japanese rice wine), salt and sugar, brought to a boil and poured over the radish pieces will result in a nice fresh pickle in about 30-60 minutes.

Another thing we love is carrot-daikon salad. Here's a recipe for that:

1 medium carrot
1 (3 inch) piece daikon radishes
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Japanese soy sauce
1/8 teaspoon peeled and grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons sugar

Peel and shred the carrot and daikon. Put them in a bowl with salt and allow to stand/drain for about 30 minutes. Squeeze out as much water as possible, then marinate in the combined ingredients above. Make 6-8 hours ahead of service.

I've never used pac choi but I've seen them, even bought one not long ago but it rotted before I got around to figuring out what to do with it!

Looks great Jenise, thanks. I like the quick pickle thing too.
Weird how I ride my bike more and eat more farmers market foods since we've moved INTO the city.

Oh, and my kitchen's done. Yay!

I grate daikon, put it in a seaweed, scallion, ginger, and shoyu flavored egg custard, and steam. Top with the little seaweed balls from Caviart that Jenise turned me on to...

Have you ever had mashed carrots and parsnips? You can substitute daikon for the parsnips - boil the carrots and daikon together and mash with a bit of butter and salt and pepper. Simple and tasty.
You can also mash with potatoes.

Jenise's daikon-carrot salad sounds interesting. I think these two vegetables have an affinity for each other.

I agree with the quick pickle idea for daikon. It has great crunch and a vibrancy of texture that you don't get from cucumbers.

[Jenise]

I grate daikon, put it in a seaweed, scallion, ginger, and shoyu flavored egg custard, and steam. Top with the little seaweed balls from Caviart that Jenise turned me on to...

Have you bought the lime green Caviart? It's beautiful!