Nov 15

Nov 15 In Season: BLACK RADISH

Photos: Jan-Peter Westermann
Recipe: Marc Wieberneit
Text: Regine Smith Thyme

PITCH BLACK AND VERY SPICY Rabenschwarz und ganz schön scharf

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It wasn’t too long ago when I discovered that black radishes or (black) winter radishes taste really good. Though it was a while ago, I still remember it well – bad experiences are unfortunately lesser forgotten than good ones. Anyway, I only really knew winter radishes as a cough remedy, something that my grandma used to treat a cold, if I wanted to or not. Yeah the syrup helped (mustard seed oil!), but it was far to distasteful for my liking. That was long ago.

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Nowadays, black radishes are a fantastic winter veg (with a whole bunch of vitamin C). Due to the abundance of this vitamin, the vegetable was often on a sailor’s menu in order to prevent scurvy. It’s existence can be traced back all the way to the ancient Egyptians. It was much loved in Europe up until the 20th century – when black radishes were replaced by the white variant. The revival of old vegetables has allowed this one to make a comeback.

It’s firm, white flesh is protected by a dark brown to black, hardy skin which is peeled or scraped off before consumption. Black radish is really tasty when it’s finely grated or sliced and combined with salad or eaten raw – a savoury, spicy delight.

When it’s steamed or boiled it becomes more mild and tastes of carrot.

Directions:

For the bread, preheat oven to 220 degrees. Place oats and chia seeds in a bowl and pour 150ml of boiling water overtop. Let sit for 10 minutes. Heat the milk. Place flour, dry yeast, honey, oil, salt, and the oat and chia mixture into a bowl and add the warm milk. Knead into a smooth dough and let rise for 45 minutes.

Place the dough in a rectangular baking dish and sprinkle with oats and chia seeds. Cover with a cloth and allow to rise for another 20-30 minutes

Bake at 220 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Allow to cool on a grill.

For the sweet and sour marinade, combine apple cider vinegar, runny honey, a finely chopped chilli pepper, and salt and pepper in a bowl.

Rinse and finely slice the black radishes and allow to marinate in the mixture for 5 minutes. Now to the herby cream cheese: finely slice chives and parsley, add to the cream cheese together with the edible flowers and add salt and pepper to taste.

Now slice the cooled bread, spread the cream cheese onto the slices and garnish with radish.

Sweet and Sour Marinated Black Radish with Herby Cream Cheese and an Oat-Chia Bread (Recipe serves 4)

For the sweet and sour marinated black radish