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R Is For Roasted Radish

Foodie Friday

Jul 8, 2011 by Bonnie Simon

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It’s radish season again, here in Colorado. I know people who like radishes, but to me they taste like rubber bands. Actually, rubber bands taste a bit better.

Before I started buying a farm share every year, I simply avoided the radishes at the grocery store and never gave them a second thought. These days, however, radishes invade my kitchen in the early summer. It happens every year. I open the farm share boxes, delighted with the lettuce and kale, and then think to myself, “What on earth am I going to do with more radishes?”.

I tried giving them to the chickens, but they wouldn’t eat them either. As a last resort before sending them to the compost pile, I thought I’d try making them into something less healthy. And what do you know? It worked! My standard root chip recipe obliterated the undesirable radish flavor!

You can do this with almost any root vegetable, such as turnips, parsnips, beets or potatoes. Beets are my favorite. A beet chip tastes slightly sweet and has a lovely red color.

Roasted Radishes and/or Root Veggies

Ingredients

Olive oil

Salt

Root vegetable of your choice (or whatever came in the farm share box)

Directions

Set the oven temperature to 300 degrees

Grease a baking sheet with oil

Wash each root and remove the leaves

Slice very thin. This is best done with a mandolin, but be sure to watch your fingers. Mandolins are sharp! I usually set mine to the .03 mm setting, but any setting will do. Note that thicker slices take longer to cook.

Toss the root slices with the olive oil until they are coated and add salt to taste. I usually add about 1/4 teaspoon per cup of slices.

Mix well and place the slices on the baking sheet in one layer. Don’t pile them on top of each other or they won’t get crisp.

Bake for about half an hour or until they are beginning to brown.

Protect from hungry passersby while they are cooling. As with all root chips, you can’t eat just one!

If you and your companions don’t eat them all off the tray, they can be stored in an airtight container for a day or two. A few minutes in the oven will make them crispy again if needed.

Graphic credit: Portland Farmer’s Market

About the Author

Bonnie Simon Has Written 35 Articles For Us!

I am an urban homesteader in Colorado Springs, CO where I raise chickens, make my own yogurt and am learning to grow some food, all within sight of downtown in a 1950s era neighborhood. I am starting a small business designed to fill the gap between local farms and local dinner tables.

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