Roasted Watermelon Radish

 

I’m always excited when I receive a new vegetable in my weekly share from my local CSA. This week that new vegetable was a Watermelon Radish. I had no idea what it was. If I hadn’t received the newsletter from the farm I would have thought it was a rutabaga or some kids of giant turnip. I didn’t know what to do with it either. So, I looked up a few recipes online and couldn’t decide…..so I eventually decided to just simply roast them.

While I was browsing recipe suggestions I noticed that many people just eat them raw and in salads, so as I was cutting the radishes into wedges I tried one. Delicious! It definitely tasted like it was in the radish family, but not as peppery. My 3-year old even tried it raw (which is a miracle). I think he was expecting it to be a fruit because it is brilliantly bright fuchsia inside, looking quite like a watermelon. After a few bites he handed it back to me letting me know that he didn’t like it. No huge surprise there, but at least he tried it!

After tasting my roasted radishes I decided that I preferred them raw. They actually weren’t bad at all but I just preferred the texture, crunchiness, and mild flavor before they were cooked. So, if anyone comes upon a Watermelon Radish I would certainly recommended roasting, but if you like salads I would definitely try them raw. Not only are they delicious but they are gorgeous!

Roasted Watermelon Radish

Ingredients:

1-2 watermelon radishes, trimmed and sliced into wedges
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375°.
Cut radishes into wedges.
Mix with 3 tbsp olive oil and salt, and put in a baking dish.
Roast radishes, stirring occasionally, until fork tender, about 1 hour.