What is This?

Photos by CoLyCo Farm

​There’s something unusual at market this week. No, it’s not a super dirty beet or turnip, it’s a black radish!

Jump to the Recipe

The blog photographer, Zachary Cross, left this morning for a month or so in Europe and you can follow his journey on his Instagram or Facebook page. I’m sure there’ll be some fabulous photographs! While he’s gone I’m planning to share photographs and recipes from other locals. I’m excited to see what’s in store.
 
Back to radishes: They are yet another member of the brassica family (I talk about brassicas a lot, and I eat even more!), along with horseradish, broccoli, turnips, and mustards, among others. They are an ancient food, from pre-Roman times in Europe, though probably domesticated earlier in Asia. You are probably familiar with at least small, round, red radishes, and maybe the larger, oblong daikons. There are many other varieties of radish as well. The black radish is a large-ish radish, but can either be oblong or round, depending on the specific variety.

CoLyCo Farm is growing the round black variety and shared the information and recipe for this week’s post. Stephanie Dickert from CoLyCo made a series of short videos on Facebook, starting with this one, about the black radish and how to prepare it. In fact, she’s been making videos on how to prepare various veggies on their Facebook page, check them out!
 
You can prepare black radishes however you normally prepare radishes - leave the skin intact for some great color - but they are a hotter radish so keep that in mind. A popular way to prepare them, and one that Stephanie shares, is radish chips. There are two schools of thought on how thick or thin to slice them. Certainly the more evenly you slice them the more evenly they will cook and have less of a chance of burned spots. However, thickness is going to be a matter of personal choice. Thin slices will create a crisper chip, but Miriam Kresh, of From the Grapevine recommends a thicker slice, ½”, because, she says, it is sweeter. Try it both ways and see what you prefer!

Black Radish Chips

​From Stephanie Dickert, CoLyCo Farm, inspired by The Writing Corner and Karis’ Vegetarian Kitchen
 
Ingredients:
 
Black radishes
Extra virgin olive oil
Pepper
Smoked Paprika
Sea salt
 
Slice clean, unpeeled radishes thinly, preferably with a mandoline slicer. Place on cookie sheet, brush with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. (Alternately, toss ingredients together in a bowl or ziploc bag) Bake at 375° for 12-14 minutes or until brown and crispy.
 
Variation: slice thicker, about ½”, for a softer texter and milder flavor (according to From the Grapevine)
 
Printable recipe here