Garam Masala Radish Quiche with Radish Tops and Brie

Early in the week I harvested some radishes from the garden, this is the dish I made with them using the whole of the radish - roots and tops! 

I've cooked with the prickly radish green leafy tops before, they do need to be sauteed though, but if you don't fancy them, then just omit them from the recipe.  I've also spiced up the filling a little with the addition of garam masala and a pinch of chilli flakes, but again - this is totally optional.  I just thought it made the radishes taste a bit more interesting, for those of you who have had enjoyed a vegetarian Mooli  Curry dish at an South Asian eatery will know what I mean. 

If you look closely, (you may need to squint a little) you may be able to see that I have tried to arrange some of the sliced radish roots into a flower petal shape. If you can get your mitts on rainbow radishes, your Radish Quiche will look pretty amazing. 

Go Radish

I've spent most of the day weeding the garden.

Herbs are growing and so are some veg, but there is not much too harvest yet - or maybe I spoke a little too soon, as I knelt down I notice some fuschia pink radishes peeking out from the ground.  I immediately began to pull those that looked big out. 

I like eating my radishes raw, sliced and the white part dipped in equal quantify of salt and chilli!  But my husband is not that keen on them raw, so I am planning to make something with these in the next couple of days including the leafy greens that are also edible.  If your looking for some radish inspiration check out the links below.  

I am sharing this with Harvest Monday hosted by Daphne and Dandelions,

Previously on A2K - A Seasonal Veg Table
Radish Leaf and Radish Tartlets
Fenugreek and Radish Rice
Asparagus and Radish Pasta Salad

Radish Leaf and Root Tart

Its supposed to be Summer, but it been raining most of June with the skies being dominated by haunting grey clouds, so to inject a little colour into our lives I made these Radish Tarts. 

Not only is it pretty, it is also frugal as I've used both the radish greens (tops) and the root.

In the past I've made the most of my turnip greens: making soups, South Asian style Turnip Greens 'Saag' and tarts, so why be wasteful with homegrown radish greens.  Eating radish greens is not new to me, as I do remember my mother making dishes with it, but its been a while. 

For those of you unfamiliar with the taste of radish greens, I would describe the flavour as bitter, a cross between nettle and watercress.  Unfortunately, the leaves on my brightly coloured radishes were a little too mature for a radish salad, but they were good enough to cook with.

I made these tarts in 4 individual tart tins, but for the recipe below I've given instructions to make one big Radish Tart that can be sliced and shared.  I also made my own shortcrust pastry, but please feel free to use store bought.

I am submitting a slice of this Thrifty Radish Tart to Chris from Mele Cotte for this week’s Weekend Herb Blogging (WHB) #289. WHB is overseen by Haalo from Cook Almost Anything.

Radish Leaf and Root Tart
For the shortcrust pastry to line a 8 - 9 inch round tin
Serves 4 - 6
Ingredients
225g plain flour
½ teaspoon salt
125g butter
3 tablespoons water
Method for shortcrust pastry
Add flour and salt to a bowl. Add the butter then rub it into the flour with your fingertips, lifting the mixture out of the bowl to incorporate as much air as possible as this will make the pastry light. Continue until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs, then add the water a little at a time and use your fingertips to press the mixture together and form a dough. Put the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead rolling out the dough, into whatever shape you want – a round, oval or rectangle. Blind bake in a hot oven at gas mark 6 for 20 minutes.
For the filling
About 20 radishes with green tops in tact
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced
2 – 3 cloves garlic, crushed
Salt and pepper to taste
150ml single cream or milk
1 egg
Method
Remove the green tops from the radish, wash thoroughly and mince. Slice the radishes in half and set aside.
Heat the oil and gently fry the onions and garlic in oil until very soft, then add in the minced greens and sauté in pan with lid until soft, stir from time to time to prevent from sticking. Season to taste and turn off heat.

When cool evenly spread into the pastry case and carefully arrange the sliced radishes on top.
Now whisk together the cream or milk with the egg and a little seasoning. Pour over the radish filling.

Bake in oven gas mark 5 for 30 – 35 minutes. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.

Radishing Rice

One of my absolute favourite ways to eat this fuchsia root vegetable is raw, sliced in half and then dipped in equal mix of salt and red chilli powder. The radish delivers a crisp and crunchy burst of peppery mist, enhanced further by the salty-chilli flavours.

Another one of my favourite radish recipe is a South Asian curry known as Mooli Methi Salan (Radish Fenugreek Curry). Mooli Methi curry is traditionally made with fresh with fresh fenugreek.  Fenugreek is an acquired taste, I really like it and am actually growing some in the garden.  Its really hard to describe the flavour of fenugreek, its pungent and has bitter undertones.  Anyway, I would have made this spicy curry dish, but I wanted something a little lighter, yet comforting and ended up making a savoury rice.  In place of the fresh fenugreek I’ve used dried fenugreek also known as kasoori; kesuri methi.  You can find dried fenugreek, (as well as cassia bark and black cardamon) at most South Asian grocers, and even in some of the larger supermarkets, but if you can't find any you can substitute it with another green leaf, though the flavour won't be the same.

This savoury Radish and Fenugreek rice dish turned out to be quite flavourful.  I had under estimated the heat of the fresh green chilli finding the seeds a little intense, so you may want to use only one, rather than two as well as remove the fiery seeds.

When my mother cooked savoury Pilau rice dish, she would just *throw in all the whole spices into the pot to infuse the rice.  It was quite normal for us to be pushing the cassia bark to the side of the plate; or picking out the cloves and peppercorns, so the appearance of these inedible whole spices don’t bother me.  However, I understand not everyone is like me and may find them unsightly, even off putting.  So with the exception of the coriander and cumin seeds, you may wish to tie the spices in a muslin cloth whilst cooking.

Radish and Fenugreek Rice

Serves 2 - 3
Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (or butter)
I medium onion, finely sliced
Optional: Cassia bark*
Optional: Black Cardamon*
1 ½ teaspoon mixture of cloves, cumin, coriander and black peppercorns*
1 -2 green chillies, sliced
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
185g or1 cup of Basmati rice, washed and drained
450ml or 2 cups water
Optional: 2 – 3 tablespoons dried fenugreek leaves
250g radishes, whole or chopped in half if you wish

Method
Heat oil in a pan with a tight fitting lid. Add the onion and all the spices and cook until the the onion is meltingly soft. Stir in the rice and the fenugreek leaves, dry fry for a couple of minutes, before pouring in the water. Bring to the boil, turn the heat down and add in the radishes, do not stir in as they will overcook.

Put the lid on and cook on low heat for 25 – 30 minutes. Stir rice and radishes well, before serving. 

If you wish, serve with natural yogurt or soured cream.

Asparagus and Radish Pasta Salad

Ah the British asparagus season has begun in earnest and we've enjoyed a couple of bundles so far. 

Although I've cooked with asparagus many times, for some reason it still doesn't inspire me much in the kitchen.  It does get me to use our asparagus steaming pot, though I wonder why I bother with it when the asparagus falls out from the sides of the metal basket.  I do think the best way to enjoy asparagus is steamed and simply drizzled in some flavoured oil or served with a thick sauce such as hollandaise.

This reminds me that the most and only expensive meal I've ever had was for my belated honeymoon in Paris.  For starter, we had White Asparagus that served with an excellent zesty sauce. Was it worth every euro? Well let's say I'll never forget it.

Well no fat fancy white asparagus here, only the long traditional spear headed green ones.  I made a simple Asparagus pasta salad, seasoned lightly with salt and pepper and then drizzled with equal quantity of good olive oil and white wine vinegar.  It looked a little insipid, so I minced some flat leaf parsley and added some raw blushing peppery radishes to it.  And because I wanted to show my husband that I do love and appreciate him at this trying time in our lives, I cut some of the radishes into heart shapes.   He just smiled, knowing deep down they were there for me too.

This is my entry for this month's No Croutons Required (NCR) which encourages bloggers to create either a vegetarian soup or salad incorporating a specified ingredient, in this case its Asparagus. NCR is alternately hosted between the Jacqueline of Tinned Tomatoes and Lisa of Lisa's Kitchen, who is this months host.

I hope you enjoy the simplicity of this seasonal Asparagus and Radish Pasta salad. 

Rainbow Radishes

Other than some lollo rosso lettuces, these are the first radishes to be harvested from my 3 foot by 3 foot salad bed. I am ever so proud of them. They are just so pretty that I would just frame them, but I must taste them too.
Washed, chopped and dipped in some salt and chilli powder...possibly...but only after I've enjoyed admiring them.

Shades of green with a tint of purple

My cardoon thistle heads are starting to become the star attraction at the entrance of the plot.

The fennel are starting to look utterly glorious spreading their fern like peacock wings. The lollo rosso lettuces and radishes, both calling out to me to pick them. I will do this weekend.