The mild heat and earthy funk of radishes is contrasted with flavors usually associated with sweets. The radish reminds me of turnips, and I love to glaze turnips, so that is how this came about. Be sure not to overcook the radishes in the water or you wind up with too much “funk”, and mush to boot.
INGREDIENTS:
1 bunch radishes, root threads and tops removed, split lengthwise ½ tablespoon sugar 1-2 tablespoons butter water or vegetable stock just to cover the radishes 1 pinch cinnamon 1 pinch ground coriander seed ½ teaspoon ginger juice* ¼ cup orange juice salt and pepper to taste
METHOD:
Heat a 2 quart chefs pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add the sugar to the pan, and wait for it to caramelize. Keep an eye on it as you do not want to burn it. When it has just melted and is just coloring to golden, add the butter to the pan and swirl the pan so the melting butter mixes with the sugar.
Add in the radishes and toss to coat with the sugar and butter. Sauté a couple minutes to get a little color on the radishes.
Add the water or stock to just barely cover the radishes and bring to a simmer. Check the radishes after a few minutes. Depending on the radish, they will become tender in different amounts of time. As soon as a knife tip easily pierces the side of a radish, use a slotted spoon to remove the radishes to a plate. (Flattening them out helps them to cool faster, where keeping them stacked might encourage them to continue cooking.)
Add the cinnamon and coriander to the liquid and stir in. Add in the ginger juice. Cook the liquid down until it becomes thick enough to coat a spoon back. Add the orange juice, stir to mix, and cook to thicken.
When the liquid has formed a glaze, add the radishes back into the pan and toss to coat. Cook to heat through, season with salt and pepper, and serve hot.
Chefs Notes:
*To make ginger juice; Use the top edge of a table knife and scrape the skin from ginger. The use a fine grater such as a microplane or Japanese ginger grater, and grate the ginger into a non-reactive bowl. Pick up the results and gently squeeze over a container, or toss the ginger into a piece of clean cheesecloth and twist to extract the juice from the ginger. This allows you to get clean ginger flavor without bits and threads getting into the dish. If you wish, you can grate a lot of ginger and then freeze the resulting juice in small batches. (You can purchase ice trays with very small pellet shapes that are about ½ teaspoon in volume.) The juice will keep pretty well in the freezer. I find using juice allows more precision in flavoring dishes with ginger, and if I wish to add more towards the end, the juice mixes with the dish more easily than would a dice.
If you wish, you could peel a clove of garlic and crack it, and add it to the butter after it has melted. This adds a certain depth, or bass line, to the dish that goes nicely with the more top-end notes of the spices and orange juice.
Serves: 4
Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen
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