Ready for Radishes

Fictional Southern Belle heroine Scarlett O'Hara might not agree, but radishes are a delicious spring crop. Easy to grow organically and with edible sprouts, leaves and blossoms, this root vegetable is versatile and matures much more quickly than most garden plants.  For gardeners who live in confined spaces, as long as the soil is loose, radishes are an excellent choice for container plantings.  

A few of many radish varieties I enjoy growing

Although supermarket shoppers are trained to expect radishes to be red and round, radish varieties come in a rainbow of colors and textures.  I enjoy serving radishes in the French tradition, scrubbed clean, sliced and served on a plate with butter or cream cheese and a bit of coarse sea salt. 

Fresh radishes, cream cheese and salt make a simple and delicious app

Impatient gardeners should try a variety like Saxa II, a tiny red heirloom that matures in about three weeks.  For color and interesting flavor, grow several radish varieties and sow seeds successively, a week or two apart, during spring and fall, in order to have a ready supply.  Some of my favorite heirloom radishes are French Breakfast, Pink Beauty, Purple Plum, White Hailstone and Helios, a beautiful yellow radish.  Chinese Red Meat looks like a ripe, red watermelon when it is sliced, making it as much a topic of conversation as a tasty addition to your dinner party. 

In organic gardens, radishes are also great for companion plantings, controlling some insect pests and protecting other crops.  Icicle radishes, long white tubers, protect squash and cucumber plants.  For every three or four squash or cukes, plant two or three radish seeds.  Allow the radishes to mature and bloom, but do not harvest.  I recently heard icicle radishes also protect beans from flea beetles and I plan to sow radishes with my beans this year.  Since flea beetles regularly attack my young eggplants, I also plan to try the same tactic with that crop.  Even though they are tiny creatures, flea beetles can be destructive insects in an organic garden. 

Flea Beetles: Tiny, but Destructive

Always plant a few extra radishes and allow them to bloom.  Snip the beautiful, orchid-like blossoms and use them to garnish any dish.  If you grow heirloom radishes, leave the plants in your garden after they bloom.  Seed pods will form and when they brown and become dry, harvest them from the plant and remove the seeds.  Store completely dry seeds in an envelope or small container and use them for future plantings.  One radish should produce hundreds of seeds. 

Radish tops are slightly prickly, but when they are cooked, they become silky smooth and you may mix them with other fresh cooked greens to add interesting flavor.  My family loves this radish top soup and when I make it, there is seldom any left over.  Use thinly sliced radishes and fresh blossoms to garnish the soup and serve with crusty bread or hot cornbread.  I doubt even Scarlett would reject this dish!

Radish Top Soup

2 tablespoons butter

1 medium onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 large potato, scrubbed and sliced into about 1/4 inch slices

2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped from stems, discard stems

4 cups fresh radish greens (if you have carrot tops, add about 1/2 cup of those, for flavor depth)

4 cups chicken stock (may substitute vegetable stock or chicken broth)

1/2 cup heavy cream

Salt and pepper (black or red) to taste

In a large stockpot, melt butter over medium heat, add onions and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, but not brown.  Add thyme leaves and stir.

Add potato slices and greens and stir to coat all ingredients with the butter.

Add broth or stock and bring to a boil over medium high heat.  Lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Remove pot from heat and allow soup to cool slightly.

Use an immersion blender to blend all ingredients until smooth or, working in batches, use a blender to puree soup.

Return mixture to pot and add cream, stirring to combine.  Season with salt, freshly ground black pepper or a dash of red pepper flakes, if you like heat.

Heat soup over low heat until hot, but not boiling.