Tag: Winter Radish

The inspiration for these salads are from recipes in a new book I bought recently in Poland and from one my Polish friend  in Leeds bought for me.

 

 

History of the Radish

Radish, in Polish –  rzodkiew,  Latin name  –  Raphanus sativus,    is a root vegetable that belongs to the Brassica family and is thought to have originated in South East Asia.  It is mentioned in Greece in the 3rd century BC and in Europe in pre-Roman times.

It was one of the first European crops to be taken to the Americas.

Some of the recipes used czarna rzodkiew – which translates as black radish.  Now I had never heard of this, so looked it up and found it is called Black Spanish radish and sometimes called winter radish. It is mentioned in Europe in the 16th century and in England in the 19th century.

It has white flesh and a black skin and  can be round or long and it  is much larger  than the radishes I have seen.  So when the recipes used one or two black Spanish radishes, I used 1 or 2 bunches of radishes.

Cucumber & Radish Salad – Version 1

Ingredients

• 1 cucumber
• 1 or 2 bunches of radishes
• 1 tablespoon of oil
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon
• Salt & pepper
• Chopped dill & flat leafed parsley

Method

• Peel the cucumber or part peel lengthwise in stripes.
• Cut the cucumber into thin slices  – you can cut these into halves.
• Top and tail the radishes and then thinly slice them.
• Add salt and pepper.
• Add the oil and lemon juice and mix well.
• Garnish with dill and flat leafed parsley.

 

 

 

Sweet Honey Dressing

A lovely sweet dressing made with honey is used on the following four salads.

Ingredients

• 125ml soured cream
• 1 tablespoon of runny honey
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Method

Use a little whisk to combine the ingredients.

Cucumber & Radish Salad – Version 2

As version 1 with sweet honey dressing

Radish & Red Onion Salad

Ingredients

• 1 – 2 bunches of radishes
• 1 red onion
• Sweet honey dressing

Method

• Top and tail the radishes and then thinly slice them.
• Slice and chop the onion into small squares.
• Mix the radishes and onion together.
• Pour the sweet honey dressing over them and mix.

 

 

Radish & Raisin Salad

Ingredients

• 1-2 bunches of radishes
• 80g raisins or sultanas
• Sweet honey dressing

Method

• Put the raisins into a small bowl and boiling water over them to cover.
• Leave them until they are cold.
• Use a sieve to drain away the water.
• Use kitchen roll or a clean tea cloth to dry the raisins.
• Top and tail the radishes and then thinly slice them.
• Mix the radishes and raisins.
• Pour the sweet honey dressing over them and mix.

Optional

Serve this on top of a bed of shredded lettuce.

 

 

 

Served here with liver & rice

Cucumber & Raisin Salad

Ingredients

• 1 cucumber
• 80g raisins or sultanas
• Sweet honey dressing

Method

• Put the raisins into a small bowl and boiling water over them to cover.
• Leave them until they are cold.
• Use a sieve to drain away the water.
• Use kitchen roll or a clean tea cloth to dry the raisins.
• Peel the cucumber or part peel lengthwise in stripes.
• Cut the cucumber into thin slices  – you can cut these into halves.
• Mix the cucumber and raisins.
• Pour the sweet honey dressing over them and mix.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Served here with liver & mushrooms and rice.

 

Radish & Apple Salad

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of radishes
• 1 large apple – Braeburn is good
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• 2 tablespoons of Greek yoghurt
• 2 pinches of salt

Method

• Top and tail the radishes and then thinly slice them.
• Cut larger slices into two
• Put them into a bowl with the sugar and salt and leave these for around 10 minutes
• Core the apple and cut into rough cubes
• Place the apple into a bowl and our the lemon juice over them.
• Mix the radishes and apple together
• Mix in the yoghurt.