Radishes, with tops (vegetables)

Clean radishes.

Full credit for this is due to Fergus Henderson and his book The Whole Beast I had never eaten radishes like this, much less eaten their tops before I read his book.  Thanks Mr. Henderson!

First go to your farmers market and buy a bunch of radishes with the tops still attached.  Next, clean your bunch of radishes well with cold running water.  Then simply separate the radish bulbs from the leafy tops.  These are going to make two separate snacks.

The first dish is simple.  Radishes with fresh butter.  Clean the radishes and dry them well with a towel.  Then split them in half (or not) and put a nice dob of room temperature sweet butter on the radish.  If you'd like now is the time to sprinkle with your buttered radish with your best coarse sea salt.

I'm such a product of my Omi, I can't resist a nice blob of beautiful butter without a big piece of baguette.  This plate led me fairly quickly to sliced radishes on buttered bread with salt.  My new favorite snack.

That's snack one, snack two is a radish top salad.  Simply replace your regular greens with the radish tops.  I like to serve this salad with a cider vinegar and mustard vinaigrette with some bits of diced onion.  The radish greens are sharp, and have a unique flavor and texture to boot.  My partner Ross now prefers radish tops to other salad greens.

Keeping the radish bulb end of the green together is an aesthetic choice on my part.  Ross prefers it when I break them up more, but I like the radishiness of the bulb intact.  The choice is up to you.

Of the three vegetables I'm featuring this in the only one you can eat entirely raw.  While the summer season is still here go and get a bunch of radishes, especially while they've still got nice leafy tops.