Recipe | Radish & Anchovy Toast

The French Breakfast Radishes in your YKG Vegetable Box are the classic, mild radishes we think of when we get excited about the first ingredients of spring. They are delicious eaten whole as part of a crudite platter (think bagna cauda or grand aioli!), sliced raw into salads, or roasted like the root vegetables that we often forget they are. Don’t forget to use their tops, either as a salad green on their own or mixed into the preparation you make with the roots. The tops wilt quickly, so you often don’t find them in a useable state unless you get them direct from the farm. To keep these fresh longer, keep these in a zip-top plastic bag with a damp paper towel inside.

Roasted Radish & Anchovy Toast  

The most simple way we enjoy breakfast radishes is washed right out of the ground with sweet butter and flakey salt. This recipe incorporates those seminal flavors and just elevates the experience a little. These make a great appetizer as a crostini/canape or could be made into a lunch tartine with the addition of a side salad. Therefore this is not an exact recipe, but a road map to make the dish the way you want to enjoy it. This is delicious with some shaved Finocchiona salami added on top with the anchovies!

French Breakfast radishes, washed, tops removed and reserved

Extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

Your favorite bread… baguette, rustic grain bread, or sourdough would be great

Salted butter, softened

Boquerones (marinated Spanish anchovies)

Lemon 

Preheat your oven to 450F. Heat a baking sheet in the oven. Wash the radishes, separate the leaves and spin them dry and set aside. Pat the roots dry and cut them in half. Toss the roots with a little olive oil just to coat and season lightly with salt (remember the anchovies and butter have salt). Carefully remove the pan from the oven and add the radishes. They should sizzle when they hit the pan. Roast the radishes for 5-8 minutes until just tender and well browned… they may take longer depending on the amount you’re roasting, and take care not to overload your pan or the radishes will steam instead of roast. They should be in a single layer with some space between them. Once cooked, remove and allow to cool. These are great served at room temperature. Meanwhile, slice your bread about ½ inch thick and toast in the oven on a baking sheet until it is a little crispy on the outside and soft in the middle, around 5 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, then spread the toast generously with salted butter. Cover the butter with the radishes, then drape some boquerones across the top. Put the leaves in a bowl and grate some lemon zest on them. Cut the lemon and squeeze some juice and drizzle olive oil over the leaves. Season lightly with salt and toss the salad, then place a nest of leaves atop the toast.