I always marvel at how tastes change as the “bad and ugly” of my youth have become stalwart components of my cooking arsenal! Now, every spring we look forward to our own early tiny radishes and green onions plucked from the backyard, and I don’t think I could truly relish spring without them.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons regular olive oil
- 1½ pound trimmed radishes, cleaned and cut in ¼’s
- 8 ounces Granny Smith apples, washed, cored (not peeled) and cut in medium dice
- 2 ounces fresh ginger root, washed (not peeled) and sliced
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 8 cups unsalted vegetable stock
- Zest of ½ lemon
- 12 scallions, ends trimmed
- 3 tablespoons regular olive oil, plus additional if needed for coating
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 24 radishes (large enough that they won’t fall through the grates when grilling), cleaned, ½ inch of green tops left on and cut in half
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1½ tablespoons granulated sugar
- Prepared Chilled Radish Soup
Instructions
For the Chilled Radish and Ginger Soup
In a 1-gallon sauce pot, place the oil over medium heat. Add the radishes, apple and ginger and cook for 10 minutes (do not brown). Add the bay leaves, thyme, salt, pepper and cardamom and cook for 1 minute. Add the stock. Bring up to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes until the radishes are very tender. Remove the bay leaves and thyme, add the lemon zest and carefully purée in a food processor until very fine. Strain through a medium strainer and adjust the seasoning. Refrigerate.
For the Grilled Radish and Scallion Garnish
Toss the scallions with 1 tablespoon of the oil, then season them with salt and pepper. Grill over a hot fire for about 1-2 minutes per side until cooked. Toss the radishes with the remaining oil, salt, pepper and sugar and grill over medium heat until very tender, about 4-5 minutes per side. Remove from the heat and toss with the lemon juice. Cut the cooled scallions on the bias in 1-inch lengths. Toss with the radishes and divide between bowls. Place the soup around and serve.
