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Sunday, February 19, 2012

warm roasted-radish salad with radish greens & mint dressing

our warm days
and
plunging cold nights
have me craving
a taste of spring
with
warm comfort

a morning visit to the farmer's market
and a
beautiful radish melange
got me thinking
of
warm salad
good books
and
the days to come
warm roasted-radish salad
with
radish greens & mint dressing
(printable recipe)
1-2 bunches of your favorite radish variety
1 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1-2 tsp aged balsamic vinegar
preheat the oven to 375F.  wash and dry the radish. remove the leaves and reserve for dressing.  place on a parchment lined sheet pan. dress with olive oil and sea salt, making sure each piece is lightly coated and well seasoned.  * if you have different sizes of radish, cut or leave whole so they are of equal size. this will ensure even cooking. if you don't wish to cut, roast in separate pans. 
roast for 15-20 minutes. 
remove the pan from the oven and drizzle the balsamic vinegar over the radishes.  return to the oven for an additional 5 minutes, or more if the radish are not yet tender to the touch.
meanwhile prepare the dressing
radish greens & mint dressing
1/4 cup packed--cleaned and dried radish leaves
1/4 cup packed--de-stemmed mint leaves
1" green garlic**--from the bulb end
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp aged balsamic vinegar
2 tsp white wine or champagne vinegar
pinch salt
generous pinch pepper
about 1/2 cup olive oil
whiz the radish leaves, mint leaves, green garlic, lemon zest , lemon juice, and vinegars in a food processor or blender.  add olive oil in a steady stream until you get the consistency you like. i prefer a loose dressing.  taste and add salt and pepper. (you can add a bit of yogurt if you want to make a nice dipping sauce)
**if you can't find or don't want to fuss over green garlic, a small clove of garlic will work just fine.

pull the radish from the oven and give them a minute to cool slightly.  if you wish to slice them, do so as soon as they are cool enough to handle.  place in a bowl and toss with as much dressing as you like.  adjust seasonings once more.  serve while still warm