In Season

Pretty in Pink

By: Hannah Lee Leidy

This Springtime,
We’re Relishing Radishes

The golden child of the humble root vegetable family, radishes aren’t content with just looking pretty. Many have serious sass, a fiery bite that doesn’t always assert itself right away, but creeps up on you in a slow burn. Like a sharp-witted beauty that can take you down with a one-liner before you know it. Sliced raw in a salad or sprinkled with sea salt over buttered toast, you can’t resist just one more bite. Not all specimens are that zingy, to be sure. Some, like black radishes, are bitter. Others shine as pickles (hello, daikon). And chef Jacob Sessoms of Table in Asheville, North Carolina, has all their numbers.

Crab salad with easter egg radishes and pickled daikon in a citronette.

“There are so many varieties, each with its own best use.” Take french breakfast radishes. Sessoms roasts them with brussels sprouts and limes for an Asian-inspired side dish. He pairs easter egg radishes with pickled daikon for a refreshing crab and avocado salad, and, in a cheffy flourish, brightens beef carpaccio with black radish dust and purée. “How can you go wrong with something that has great texture, crunch, a healthy bit of spice, and is colorful and appealing on a plate?” he asks. “What’s not to love?”

Date Published: 04.01.16
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About The Author

Hannah Lee Leidy

Hannah Lee Leidy is a food writer and editor based in the Carolinas. She is currently the digital content editor for Our State magazine, a position she came into following her time at The Local Palate. Her contributions have appeared in Condé Nast Traveler, Bon Appétit, Epicurious, Culture, and Eater. She’s spent time working in restaurants in both front and back of house positions, doing everything from burning gateaux to expediting to shaking a Manhattan (don’t worry, this only happened once). An avid curd nerd, her favorite beat is reporting on boutique cheese makers; she’ll sniff out every creamery near and far whenever traveling. When not parenting a Bernese mountain pup named Ava, you’ll find her running or working on her lamination technique.

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