Usually by early May the Portland Farmers’ Markets are bursting with gorgeous spring crops: delicate greens, the newly fashionable “rabes”–turnip rabe, kale rabe, collard rabe–asparagus, carrots, peas, rhubarb and radishes. When the market is in full swing, I tend to base much of my meal planning on what’s available now, using the generosity of the season as my guide. Sometimes the produce looks so appealing I even pick up items that aren’t generally part of my repertoire. This week I couldn’t resist the radishes.
Always a fan of the mantra “what grows together goes together”, I decided to make a quick and easy vegetable side dish (gluten free, of course) using both radishes and sugar snap peas. If you’ve never cooked radishes before, here’s your opportunity to try something new in five minutes flat. It’s enormously simple: Give the peas a head start in the pan to get the cooking going, toss in the radishes for about a minute, and then season the veggies with red pepper flakes, lime juice, cilantro, and sesame oil.
No sugar snaps? Snow peas work great in their place. Not a fan of sesame oil and cilantro? Try using dill instead and substitute lemon juice for the lime juice. Basil makes a great summery addition as well. Serve the dish alongside simply grilled chicken or fish for a quick weeknight meal. Enjoy! ~LbR
What a great idea to use radishes in stir-fry! I also live in the Portland area and came across this recipe at a time when my crisper was stocked with farmers market radishes and snow peas. Tonight I incorporated them into my own stir-fry recipe and LOVED it. I don’t think radishes would ever have occurred to me. Thanks again for a great idea!