Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Warm Radish and Cabbage Salad

Radishes and cabbage, really, the two least sexy vegetables. And yet, hearty and inexpensive, tangy and full of opportunity.

This recipe has totally blown me away. There's something about the vegetables, and the procedure, that maximizes the brown-butter flavor. And I don't really love radishes nor cabbage, so I find it odd that this dish magically transforms such ordinary ingredients.

We've made this quite a few times due to it's rich taste, ease of prep, and deep sweetness perfectly suited to serve with pork tenderloin or spicy chicken sausage.

The original recipe calls for watercress, which is far cooler than cabbage, but also more expensive and harder to find. If you can find radishes with the greens still on, those will also work in place of the watercress or cabbage.


Adapted from Gourmet, November 2005

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 bunches radishes (1 1/2 lb total), radishes halved lengthwise, then sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup water
1/4 to 1/2 head of green cabbage, coarsely sliced (Or, greens from radishes, or 2 bunches watercress, coarse stems discarded, washed well, and cut into 2-inch lengths)

Heat butter with oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then sauté radishes with salt and pepper, stirring occasionally, 6 minutes. Add water and cook, covered, until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes, then cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until liquid is evaporated, 1 to 4 minutes. Add greens and sauté, stirring, until wilted, about 1 minute.

3 comments:

Nicole said...

Just got a head of cabbage in my produce bin and was like huh? I will definitely give this a try.

flynn said...

Yum! We always get radishes in our veg basket - I can't wait to make this this weekend! Q. - Would it matter if I used purple cabbage? Just asking 'cause it's what I have on hand.

Denise said...

I think red cabbage would be delish, but definitely different. The original recipe calls for watercress...>> radish tops >> green cabbage >>red cabbage. A few veggie cousins away, but I look forward to hearing how it goes! The star of the dish is the radish, anyhow, due to the amazing toasty butter flavors they take on.