I'm beginning to see the fruits of my labor. Well, in this case vegetables. Radishes!
As mentioned in the blog about dad, this past spring I was awakened to the joy of gardening. Finding dad's seeds sparked my interest in not just growing those tomatoes, but many things in my garden. I did an awful lot of reading, and I was reminded of something I had learned long ago... that radishes are an easy vegetable to grow, and one crop that flourishes in almost any season. So in mid-April, the first seeds that went directly into my 4x4 bed was a row of radishes.
Today I picked my first two. The first one went to my neighbor who has been watching the process as I meet him almost every time I'm in my garden. The second one was mine!
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| Second radish from my garden |
I immediately ran inside, washed off all the dirt from the radish and cut a few slices. Crunch! Pow! The one-two punch! First to bite into the fresh crispness and then, pow... that tangy, peppery flavor that gets you immediately on the tongue!
But now what to do with the leaves. Can I eat them? ..Scramble to look for my phone and search the net for "are radish leaves edible". I'm given a resounding YES from the first list of searches and I started bubbling with elation. Immediately I think Pesto.
I pulled out my food processor, threw in a couple of small cloves of garlic and watched them bounce in the machine until they chopped into tiny pieces. In went the radish leaves. I threw in some walnuts, just eye balling what might be right for the amount of leaves I had. As the machine whirred away, I slowly drizzled in my extra virgin olive oil until I saw that beautiful dark green color appear. In went some Locatelli cheese... Yes, I love and prefer the sharpness of Pecorino Romano in Pesto! Sacrilege! Mmmm! So yummy and peppery, kind of like the peppery flavor of arugula. A few adjustments with oil, cheese, salt and, well, it was perfection!
Radish Leaf Pesto
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| Radish Leaf Pesto made with walnuts and pecorino romano www.seasonedchefservice.com
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| Whole Wheat Pasta w/Broccoli and Radish Leaf Pesto |
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