What to do with all those New Spring RADISHES!!

So, are some of you growing little gardens or visiting the local Spring Farmer's Markets or getting CSA boxes? I love all the beautiful produce that shows up locally at this time of year, one of my favorites being the simple, often ignored RADISH!!

I've had a bumper crop already this spring, and while I LOVE them raw, there are actually several tasty ways to enjoy them cooked tender crisp...

This recipe is probably the most unique use I've discovered for cooking with radishes, Indian Spiced (or sort-of curried) and so so GOOD!! Definitely give this a try!!

A local Indian restaurant makes something similar and this is my attempt to copy.

Indian Spiced Radishes

8 French Fingerling potatoes or any similar, small, new potato

12 fresh radishes - ends trimmed and sliced into medium thick rounds (or quartered, if you prefer)

1/2 cup cooked garbanzos

1/2 cup frozen petite peas (or fresh if you're that lucky!!)

1 onion - finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 tsp cayenne or to taste

1/4 teaspoon of each turmeric (or curry powder) and salt (or to taste)

1 teaspoon of peanut oil

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

pinch fenugreek seeds (optional - not necessary, but nice if you have them)
pinch fennel seeds (optional, not necessary, but nice if you have them)

Parboil the potatoes until tender but firm. Quarter and set aside.

Heat peanut oil in flat, dry skillet and toast cumin, mustard, fennel and fenugreek seeds just until they start to "pop".

Add the potatoes, onions, garlic, turmeric and salt.
Fry and brown a bit until onions are cooked.

Add radishes, peas and garbanzos, and stir gently until radishes are seasoned, warm, and lose a tiny bit of raw crunchyness... serve garnished with chopped parsley or mint.

Serve with warm Indian bread of your choice.

Not-Quite-Raw Spaghetti and Sauce

I'm definitely not "going raw" on you here, but the zucchini "noodles" that raw foodies use in place of traditional cooked pasta have always interested me.
.












And oddly enough, I've owned a spiral slicer since, like, forever - because I'm a kitchen-gadget-nerd like that: (evidently spiral slicers are a raw-kitchen necessity, and important for making super-skinny noodle-type slices of zucchini ...which look a lot like worms, ...but I digress...)

So tonight when faced with the dilemma (MAJOR crisis!!!) of not-quite-enough spaghetti for the hungry natives, plus a wealth of zucchini and some grape tomatoes, I decided to give this raw "noodle" thing a try... This is NOT a "raw" recipe because I did use cooked pasta as well, but it was definitely a fun experiment with tasty results.
.














First:
I cooked the bit of pasta I had, and while that was cooking, I shredded (or sliced?) the zuchinni into long, spiraling "noodles". I ended up with a ratio of about 2/3rds raw zucchini and 1/3 cooked pasta.
.
Next:
After I drained the cooked pasta, I tossed the zucchini with it and drizzled with a little olive oil. Yes, I suppose the heat from the pasta "cooked" the zucchini somewhat.
.
Then:
I topped everything with the following "raw" tomato sauce which I've actually made many times before. The sauce is amazing on hot summer days when you don't want to heat up the kitchen!! I admit my tiny grape tomatoes weren't garden-fresh, but they had a nice flavor anyway.
.
Uncooked Tomato Sauce

1 clove garlic, peeled
2 pounds fresh garden-grown tomatoes (strong, sweet ones work best - cherry, grape, yellow, roma, whatever you have)
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes
2(ish) packed Tablespoons fresh basil leaves, rosemary, parsley, whatever you like
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Blend all of the above in a food processor until smooth.
Add red pepper flakes and a splash of red-wine vinegar to taste if you like.... Pour over pasta of your choice. Enjoy!!

Have a great weekend, enjoy the sunshine (if any shines in your part of the world - lots of "liquid sunshine" here!!).