VEG CURIOUS?
Latest cookbook from U.K. chef Alice Hart offers intermediate-level vegetarian fare,
I want to like radishes. They’re cheap, cheerful and one of the first local crops to appear in stores each spring. They’re good for you — radishes are a cruciferous vegetable in the same family as cauliflower and kale and have a bright, peppery flavour similar to arugula. They’re full of vitamin C.
But what to do with a radish? I never knew. I recently read an essay in the New York Times on the joys of eating raw radishes adorned with nothing but good butter and sea salt. But that requires no recipe, just a sharp knife and possibly a friend to share the joy and guilt of eating all that butter.
It seemed almost too easy. Along comes Alice Hart, the U.K.-based chef, food writer and stylist.
In her second book of vegetarian recipes, she offers butter-glazed radishes cooked with capers and walnuts, a step up from the raw classic.
Many dishes in her latest cookbook are similarly intermediate-level for home cooks who want to move past the typical, easy staples. The book: Good Veg: Ebullient Vegetables, Global Flavors — A Modern Vegetarian Cookbook, $36.95, from the Experiment Publishing, was released this April in North America and last year in the U.K. as The New Vegetarian.
It’s all meat-free and in some cases vegan, divided into breakfasts, quick snacks, “thrifty” meals for weeknight suppers, fancier fare for parties, grains, raw foods, desserts and even condiments.
In the five years since Hart’s first all-veg book, times have changed dramatically as more and more home cooks experiment with vegetarian cooking. The quote: “You might be looking for inspiration after a lifetime of vegetarianism, or seeking ideas for new meat-free meals; there will be recipes here for you, almost all based on our sheer and fabulous variety of fresh produce.” The tester: I’m vegetarian but rarely cook anything for myself more involved than a weekend soup, which I get sick of by Tuesday and go back to salads and crackers.
Raw radishes and butter sounds like dinner to me. Recipes I’m dying to make: Zucchini, Ricotta and Dill Tart with Spelt-Rye Pastry; Nectarine, Tomato and Burrata Salad; Ruby Red Kim- chi; Roasted Pineapple, Coconut and Kaffir Lime Sorbet; Idli with Coconut Chutney
Butter-Glazed Radishes with Capers and Walnuts
Star Tested This is more of a side dish or a light lunch, if served as Hart recommends with cheese and bread. Her recipe calls for sherry vinegar but I couldn’t find it at the store and used red wine vinegar instead. The same goes for a suggested accompaniment of walnut bread; I chose a whole-grain loaf with pumpkin seeds and served it with old cheddar. I also served this dish with raw radishes, a brick of butter to swipe them in and salt to sprinkle on them.
Radishes become milder in flavour when cooked. 2 tbsp (30 mL) salted butter 1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil 1 tbsp (15 mL) capers, rinsed and dried 25 radishes, halved or quartered 2 shallots, finely chopped 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 1/3 cup (80 mL) walnut halves, toasted 2 tbsp (60 mL) fresh oregano, about 2 sprigs 2 tbsp (30 mL) red wine vinegar Sea salt and black pepper, to taste Dense bread, to serve (optional) In a medium cast-iron pan or heavybottomed saucepan over medium heat, melt butter with olive oil. Add capers and fry until sizzling. Add radishes and shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until shallots become translucent, about 8 minutes. Add garlic, walnuts and oregano and cook for 3 minutes more.
Increase heat to medium-high. Add vinegar. Stir until mixture is slightly reduced and radishes look glazed and shiny, about 2 minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper. Serve with bread and cheese, if desired.
Makes 8 servings.