Roasted Radishes with Garlic & Lemon

Roasted Radishes may sound unusual, but they’re surprisingly tasty.

Fast roasting in olive oil for around ten minutes mellows the radish’s natural pepperiness and makes them delectably juicy.

Flavoured with garlic and a squeeze of lemon, I think they’re great as a side dish, warm salad, or one of a series of small plates.

If you’re lucky enough to get a bunch of radishes with the leaves still on, you can even add these to the dish too.

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Did you know that radishes are delicious roasted?

Although at first the idea may seem a bit odd, it really shouldn’t.

That’s because radishes are in the brassica family along with the likes of cauliflower, broccoli and turnips.

And, if we’ve learned anything about these veggie staples in recent years, it’s that a bit of judicious roasting can work wonders.

INSPIRATION

I was first inspired to make roasted radishes when this beautiful bunch of very fresh organic radishes arrived in my Moorland Veg Box.

The pink and white roots looked superbly firm and crunchy. But the giveaway was those leaves.

Often missing from shop bought radishes, the super-fresh leaves told me that this bunch had been very recently harvested.

So, I decided to give both radishes and leaves a little special treatment for our dinner that night.

MELLOW ROASTED RADISHES

I love a raw, peppery radish. They’re a great addition to loads of meals, not just salads.

If I think a plate or bowl is lacking, or could do with a little more variety, at the last minute I’ll often add a few chopped radishes along with chunks of cucumber and tomato. It’s also a dead easy way to squeeze in another portion of veg.

But roasting radishes transforms them entirely.

From pungent and slightly spicy (and, let’s face it, a bit burp-inducing), a roasted radish becomes very mild and mellow.

As with other veg, when we roast radishes the natural sugars caramelize, enhancing both colour and flavour.

And what’s so great about radishes is that they only need around 12 minutes to roast.

Oh, and if you’re watching your carbs, you might like to know that roasted radishes have only a fraction of the carbs of roasted potatoes.

ROASTED RADISHES WITH GARLIC & LEMON

To make these delectable Roasted Radishes with Garlic & Lemon, you start by halving them and tossing with salt, pepper and olive oil.

Then it’s onto a hot oven on a preheated baking tray.

After about eight minutes your radishes should be almost ready: softening nicely and starting to get golden brown patches. Now’s the time to stir in some finely chopped garlic. I don’t put the garlic in right at the beginning as I don’t want it to overcook and get bitter.

If you were lucky enough to get leaves on your radishes, you can toss those into the tray too. Like many other dark green leaves, these are pleasantly bitter, so contrast nicely with the mellow radishes.

Another few minutes in the oven and your radishes will be cooked and the leaves wilted.

All that’s left to do then is transfer everything to a serving bowl, including the pan juices.

Finally, I squeeze over the juice of half a lemon to lift the whole thing.

SERVING

A lovely side dish or warm salad, I think Roasted Radishes with Garlic & Lemon would be a great addition to loads of different meals.

To go with my first batch, as the oven was on anyway, I roasted some veg box parsnips with maple syrup and sesame seeds. Also in the bowl are coleslaw, wilted spinach, and pan-fried salmon.

I thought this was a beautiful, colourful bowl.

With simple seasonings, the fresh vegetables became the centre of the dish. I loved the way their natural flavours shone through.

If you haven’t tried roasted radishes before, I hope you’ll give them a go.

Soft, caramelized, and mellow, I think you might be surprised just how good they can be.

Let me know by leaving a comment, and don’t forget to rate the recipe.

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Roasted Radishes with Garlic & Lemon

Roasted Radishes, flavoured with garlic & lemon, are an unusual, tasty side or salad. Roasting both mellows the radishes & makes them juicy.

Course Side Dish, Salad

Cuisine Vegan, plant-based, World

Keyword quick

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Total Time 22 minutes

Servings 2 as a side dish

Author Moorlands Eater

Ingredients

• 1 bunch radishes with leaves if possible
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
• ½ lemon juice only

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 220C / 200C Fan / Gas 6 with a roasting tray inside.

2. Wash the radishes and any leaves very well in a bowl of cold water. Drain.

   Cut off any long, straggling roots and the stems.

   If your radishes have leaves discard any tough stems, but keep the leaves.

3. Cut the radishes in half and place in a bowl.

   Season with salt and pepper and drizzle in the olive oil.

   Toss well.

4. Remove the preheat tray from the oven and add the radishes, cut side down.

   Put in the oven and leave for 8 minutes.

5. Remove the tray from the oven and toss the radishes with the garlic.

   If you have radish leaves, toss them in now too.

   Turn the radishes so they're cut side up and return to the oven.

6. After another 2 minutes, check that the radishes are caramelized, soft, and done to your liking.

   If not, return to the oven for another minute or 2.

7. Transfer the radishes, leaves and any tray juices to a serving bowl.

   Squeeze over the lemon juice and serve.