Root-to-leaf cooking applies the principles of “nose to tail” cooking to fruits and vegetables, using the greens, roots, peels, stems, flowers and everything in between. Each month, I focus on a single ingredient that’s in season, grown and available locally, and that has far more than one use.
Radishes are often relegated to garnishes or side dishes — shaved over Cobb salads, chopped into potato salads, roasted and served alongside polenta or chicken. With radishes in such abundance this season, I wanted to make these peppery little root vegetables the main event. The following recipes use only fresh radishes and a scant handful of pantry staples that highlight the best flavors of the radish and also create a lovely pink hue.
Recipe: Chilled radish soup
This recipe is easy to scale for any number of servings. The amounts listed here make a single serving, about 1 1/4 cups, perfect for a first course or as a main dish served with crusty bread and a green salad.
1 bunch red radishes (about 7 or 8) washed and dried well, quartered
1 red radish, cut into matchsticks
1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 cup sour cream
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper or ground black peppercorn
1/2 teaspoon prepared horseradish
Add radishes, milk, sour cream, salt, pepper and horseradish to blender. Blend on high speed for a full minute or more until soup is completely smooth. Chill until ready, or serve immediately. Drizzle radish green aioli over soup, and garnish with radish matchsticks.
To make the soup vegan, use your favorite non-dairy milk in the same quantity; I used oat milk for testing. Instead of sour cream, use either an equal amount of silken tofu (which lends a lightly earthy tone), or cashew cream (which adds a little nutty sweetness). Consider adding 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar to the blender for a brighter flavor.
Notes: If radishes are too spicy for your taste, blanch them whole in boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes, then run under cold water and proceed.
Recipe: Radish greens aioli
Radish leaves are often spiny, which can be unpleasant to eat whole. Here we’re blending raw greens into homemade aioli, which softens their structure while retaining their verdant flavors.
The earliest recipes for aioli called for just oil and garlic, but many modern recipes include lemon juice, egg, or Dijon mustard, which helps emulsify the sauce. We’re making ours with all three for a rich, tangy, bright green (and easy) aioli.
Radish greens from 1 bunch, thoroughly washed and dried, then chopped (about 1/2 to 2/3 cups chopped)
1 cup natural oil such as avocado, vegetable or walnut
1 egg
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Juice from 1/2 lemon
2 cloves garlic, peeled
Salt to taste
With an immersion blender: In the bottom of an immersion blender cup, add the egg, Dijon, lemon juice, salt and garlic, and blend until smooth. Add radish leaves in three or four parts, blending well after each addition.
Once blended, place the head of the immersion blender in the bottom of the cup. Slowly drizzle in oil while rotating the blender head, gradually moving the blender up from the bottom. Take your time to incorporate all of the oil; this thickens the sauce and prevents it from breaking. Once smooth and thickened, taste the aioli and adjust salt or garlic as you like. The aioli will thicken further in the refrigerator.
With a food processor: In the bowl of the food processor add egg, Dijon, lemon juice, garlic, salt and radish greens. Process until smooth. With the processor running, slowly drizzle in oil until aioli is thick.
Drizzle aioli over soup or use as a fabulous dressing for lettuces, dip for vegetable platters, smeared on sandwiches, or tossed with pasta or potato salad. To make vegan aioli, many cooks use aquafaba in place of the egg (I haven’t tested this).
Notes: Roughly chopping the reddish greens prevents longer strands of greens from wrapping around the blades of the blender or food processor.
The recipe calls for two cloves of garlic, but don’t be afraid to add more if you prefer a stronger garlic flavor. I made a delightful batch with five cloves after testing.
The recipe calls for 100% neutral oil because olive oil can become bitter when blended, due to bitter polyphenols that are released as the oil is broken down into smaller droplets. If you’d like to use olive oil, make the recipe as is with only 1/2 cup neutral oil. Once the neutral oil is incorporated, stop blending and vigorously whisk 1/2 cup olive oil into the sauce by hand.
Along with making aioli, you can blend chopped radish greens into Greek yogurt, cashew cream, or sour cream for a quick sauce.
Hannah Green’s Root-to-Leaf column appears on the first Wednesday of every month.
