Radishes can add bright or mellow quality to dishes

If the only way you eat radishes is sliced into salads, you’re missing much of their potential.

Radishes are available year-round but are at their peak in spring through mid-summer, which makes this a good time to explore different ways of using them. One of the things chefs like is their versatility.

“A lot of people don’t know you can cook radishes, and that’s something I like to do at home,” said Jennifer Murphy, executive chef of Gordon Ramsay’s new Hell’s Kitchen at Caesars Palace. “You can braise them, like a turnip or a rutabaga. The color changes, the texture changes. They’re delicious like that. I love cooked turnips, and they have very similar characteristics.”

To braise radishes, Murphy said she adds them to other vegetables when making a roast, or will put them in a pan and cover about halfway with stock.

“Let that braise slowly and I’ll throw a couple of knobs of butter in there and let that cook down,” she said. “All of the moisture comes out of the radishes and you have this lovely liquid.”

Or she may saute them quickly with butter and salt.

Of course, Murphy uses radishes raw as well. At the restaurant, she serves an avocado toast on multigrain bread topped with a variety of seasonal radishes. Currently, she said, they’re using Purple Ninja, watermelon, French breakfast and, when they can get them, white icicle.

“Purple Ninja is absolutely gorgeous, stunning and probably the spiciest of the radishes we’re using,” she said. “The flesh near the outside is more spicy and bitter than the interior; overall they’re mildly spicy.”

The French breakfast, she said, is similar to the more common red, or Easter egg radishes. Watermelon and white icicle are specialty items they source through The Original Farmers Market in Los Angeles.

“We always try to use a variety on the toast so each bite you take is a very different flavor,” she said. She said they slice them thinly and coat them in a lemon vinaigrette.

Christophe De Lellis, executive chef at Joel Robuchon at MGM Grand, has a daikon radish cake on his degustation menu. They combine grated daikon and confit onion with rice flour, truffle juice and juice from the radish. The cake is baked, then seared in coconut oil.

“It’s a great dish, really popular,” he said. “And completely vegan and gluten-free. They can be really excessive when raw. When you cook it, you get this really intense flavor from the radishes, but you take out the spiciness.”

De Lellis said he also likes to use radish juice as an ingredient; “it brings an interesting flavor profile to any dish.”

At B&B Restaurant Group’s Carnevino at Palazzo and B&B Ristorante at The Venetian, radishes are pickled and served with octopus.

“Octopus is kind of a classic, one of the most popular items on the menu,” said Nicole Brisson, culinary director for the group. “We wanted to give it a different flavor profile.”

They braise the octopus, and then the larger tentacles are charred, while the ends and head are made into a mixture with gelatin that goes into a cylinder mold. The resulting product is thinly sliced to form a carpaccio that’s fanned out on the plate. The charred tentacles get a limoncello glaze and are piled atop, with pickled radishes and Fresno chilies.

“I love raw radishes; they have that nice subtle heat and great crunch,” Brisson said. “When you pickle them they take on a different kind of crunch. I feel like they kind of get an Asian flavor. Instead of just crunch and raw and clean, they’re sweet, a little acidic, a little smoother on the palate.”

She also has braised radishes, and considers that an interesting way of cooking them.

“I would say radishes are one of my favorites, because they transition into each season easily,” she said. “They have different flavor profiles, depending on which variety you use. They can add vibrant brightness to a dish, or a rich, real vegetal quality.”

Roasted Radishes with Brown Butter, Lemon and Radish Tops

2 bunches medium radishes (such as red, pink and purple; about 20)

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

Coarse kosher salt

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Brush large heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. Cut off all but 1/2 inch of green radish tops; reserve trimmed tops and rinse them well, checking for grit. Coarsely chop radish tops and set aside.

Cut radishes lengthwise in half and place in medium bowl. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil and toss thoroughly to coat. Place radishes, cut side down, on prepared baking sheet; sprinkle lightly with coarse salt. Roast until radishes are crisp-tender, stirring occasionally, about 18 minutes. Season to taste with more coarse kosher salt, if desired.

Melt butter in heavy small skillet over medium-high heat. Add pinch of coarse kosher salt to skillet and cook until butter browns, swirling skillet frequently to keep butter solids from burning, about 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and stir in fresh lemon juice. Transfer roasted radishes to warmed shallow serving bowl and drizzle brown butter over. Sprinkle with chopped radish tops and serve. Makes 4 side-dish servings.

— Recipe from Epicurious

Glazed Radishes

3 bags (6 ounces each) red radishes (about 45), ends trimmed

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

Coarse salt and ground pepper

Cut large radishes in half; leave small ones whole.

In a 12-inch skillet, combine radishes, butter, sugar, vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil over high heat; cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid has reduced and radishes are tender and glazed, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve. Serves 4.

Quick Pickled Radishes

2/3 cup red-wine vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

Coarse salt

15 medium-size red radishes (about 6 ounces), ends trimmed, thinly sliced

In a medium bowl, stir together vinegar, sugar and 2 teaspoons coarse salt. Add radishes and stir to combine. Let stand 30 minutes before serving.

Pickled radishes are best used within a few hours, but can be kept refrigerated for up to 1 day.

Buttery Shrimp and Radish Pasta

3/4 pound linguine or other long pasta

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter (divided use)

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package directions. Reserve 1 cup pasta water; drain pasta and return to pot. Add 2 tablespoons butter and toss until butter is melted; keep warm.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high. Add garlic and radishes and cook, stirring occasionally, until radishes are crisp-tender, 3 minutes. Add radish greens and cook until wilted. Season with salt and pepper, then add to pasta and stir to combine.

In skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter. Add shrimp, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until opaque throughout, 4 minutes. Add shrimp to pasta and toss, adding enough pasta water to create a light sauce that coats pasta.

— Recipes from Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia

Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at Hrinella@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0474. Follow @HKRinella on Twitter.