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.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Tuscan White Bean Fettunta and Grilled Bread

Some have said the quickest way to kill your passion is to make it your profession. Well, for the last 3 months, I have been working 20-40 hours a week in food, at a local upscale market. I've worked as a cheesemonger, deli slicer, pizza maker, sandwich maker, salad maker, and food prepper. In the name of exploring the career opportunities within my passion, I've taken a huge paycut, learned a lot about humility, and developed a terrible case of carpal tunnel (wrist braces 'n' all).

I have blogged zero times. I have let myself down, and let all 4 of you readers down. I sincerely apologize, and wish to end the guilt right now.

Fortunately, I have still been cooking up great and tasty things, and documenting them with lots of photos--I knew I would get my act together and come back to blog them eventually.