Roasted Radishes with Smoked Salt, Chilli & Honey
Roasted radishes, crunchy leaves, sweet honey, kick off chilli and salty sweetness of a good balsamic vinegar! THIS, my friend is how we should eat radishes!
Radishes have a reputation for being one of the ‘usual suspects‘ in the weekly veggie box deliveries, but fear not there is more to these peppery pink balls than just salad!
Crunchy & Spicy:
Crunchy & Spicy best describes radishes, their spicy characteristic vary according to how long they have been sitting in the ground, the longer the spicier. Radishes are fast growers and as a result the tops tend to be fresh and you can treat and eat them like any other salad leave. A classic way to serve radishes is simply dipped into butter and then salt, if you didn’t know, its a thing.
I was looking for different ways to make radishes more accessible to all, specially those not liking its spiciness or are just finding different ways of eating it.
ENTER the hot oven, roasted radishes loses all their spiciness and become something different all together and because of this I am looking at them with a renewed affection!
Flavour Additions:
- a fantastic local honey, I am a bit obsessed with fynbos honey at the moment. When sourcing honey, key things to look out for is (1) raw and (2) single origins (i.e from one place).
- a good smoked chilli flake – I know I can be a bit tedious with ingredients but its all because flavour matters as in the case of smoking, smoked chilli flakes have more flavour. I like this one from woolies.
- a good aged (minimum 3 year) balsamic vinegar will make all the difference here, it needs to be not just acidic but slightly sweet too. I like this one and this one.
Serving Suggestions:
This little flavour powerhouse will sit happily alongside lots of dishes but to be honest, I just had it with two crispy fried Lowerland organic eggs and a drizzle chilli oil – and it was perfect!
Vegan:
Use a good maple syrup & leave out the feta or source a crumbly salty plant-based alternative.
Serves 2
Roasted Radishes with Smoked Salt, Chilli & Honey
Ingredients
- 2 bunches radishes, leaves intact if fresh bunches
- extra virgin olive oil
- flaky sea salt I used maldon smoked salt
- pinch smoked chilli flakes (to taste)
- 3 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar (to taste really)
- 3 tablespoons honey/maple syrup (to taste really)
- a good feta if not vegan
Instructions
- Soak the radishes (leaves still in tact if young) in cold water, drain well. Reserve 4 smallish radishes, cutting one into small circles for a garnish. Cut the larger ones in half vertically through the root and leaves, leaving smaller radishes whole.
- Heat your oven to 220c
- Put a good glug of olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet or pan and heat over a medium-high heat. Arrange the larger radishes cut side down and cook until lightly browned. Keep the small radishes & reserved radishes aside for now.
- Once browned (5 minutes), transfer to the oven and roast until the radishes are browned and starting to soften (their skin will shrivel a bit), about 6 minutes.
- Add the smaller radishes (not the reserved ones) and roast until the radishes are fully tender and the greens are starting to wilt, about 3 minutes.
- Add the roasted radishes to a pretty serving plate and scatter the reserved raw radishes around the plate, tucking the leaves under the cooked radishes.
- Now the fun starts! Season well with salt and chilli flakes, drizzle with the honey and balsamic and feta if using. Enjoy!