Pan Roasted Turnips and Radishes

Seth Freedman, who once did demos at the East Atlanta Village Farmers Market but is now with PeachDish, created this recipe as a market demo. He was using hareuki turnips, the sweet little white ones that are similar in size to radishes, but you can take today’s turnip and cut it into pieces about the size of the radishes in the box. It’s a “recipe” that couldn’t be simpler, but a nice reminder that turnips and radishes go well together.

Radish Preserves

In a large saucepan, combine sugar, vinegar, radishes and water. Simmer on low for an hour, then use an immersion blender or food processor to finely chop, but not puree. Will keep refrigerated for a month.

CSA Salad with Buttermilk-Green Onion Dressing

The gorgeous head of lettuce in my CSA box made me run for the salad bowl. Slice up the radishes you don’t put into a sandwich, add the cucumbers and then make this simple dressing. You could sliver some of the Napa cabbage into your salad as well. And what about boiling up a few of those eggs and adding egg halves? Now you’ve got a perfect lunch or light dinner.

Radish Sandwiches

I’m going to start you off with what has been the most widely publicized Atlanta recipe for the past few months, the Radish Sandwiches with Butter and Salt from Steven Satterfield’s new cookbook, “From Root to Leaf.” They’ve been everywhere from the New York Times to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. A reminder from a master chef of how simple things can be best. The recipe in the book calls for two bunches of radishes, but of course, you only received one. So make half the recipe, or run to your local farmers market tomorrow or over the weekend and pick up more.

Here’s what he says in the book about the recipe: “The French figured out a long time ago that the best way to cut the heat of a raw radish is to dip it into softened butter and sprinkle it with salt. They also take it one step further and put it on a baguette, turning it into a light lunch or a snack with wine. The trick is not to skimp on the radishes or the butter. Think of the radish as the meat and the butter as the mayo. If you’re feeling creative, whip the butter with fresh herbs like chives or tarragon. I like to pair this with chilled spring greens soup or wrap it in wax paper and take it on a picnic.”

Storing radishes: Go ahead and remove the greens and rinse the radishes. You can save the greens to add to a salad, or to make pesto. But if you leave them on the roots, they’ll sap some of the energy. Keep the roots in a plastic bag with some ventilation. They should hold up to a week.