Our daughter loved radishes and so we have been planting, harvesting, and replanting in quick succession and will do so as long as the weather permits (radishes bolt when the warm weather sets in). Radish sprouts are great on salads and sandwiches, and we of course love the full grown radish root. However, radish tops/greens are a different story. Unlike beet greens, radish greens are not as appetizing in their raw state.
The leaves are rough if not somewhat spiny and, of course, they have some zip to them. But after all the effort that goes into planting, we hate to simply toss the greens onto the compost pile. My wife discovered a recipe for radish top pesto that we have really enjoyed over at Genius Kitchen.
Ingredients:
2 -3 cups radish greens/radish tops
3 cloves garlic, smashed
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons pine nuts
Salt and pepper to taste
- Place the first four ingredients in a food processor and pulse into a fine paste
- Add remaining ingredients and pulse to combine
- If the pesto is too bitter, add some additional sugar. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
That’s it, pretty simple. Be forewarned, this pesto is very different from its basil based cousin; the spiciness of the radish definitely comes through! We really enjoyed it though and it was a nice change of pace from the tomato sauce or traditional basil pesto we typically put on pasta. Special thanks to Genius Kitchen user Just Garlic for posting this recipe!
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