Longevity Radishes

We don’t have too many choices at the farmers’ market these days, but we still have some of these gorgeous pink inside-out radishes (also known as bleeding-heart radishes and watermelon radishes). I couldn’t wait to shred one up with endlessly entrancing Cook-Help (joyful beautiful sharp-edged!). Are these the living end? So, I put some in a salad, of course, but these guys were just demanding a recipe of their very own. I thought if I could cook them just a tiny bit, and matched them up with a sauce, they could be delicious and amusing. Not a substitute for pasta, you understand, but something that is somehow about pasta. Sesame sauce is my first try for these. I happened to have some ground cashews with roasted hemp seeds on hand, and all the elements of this dish were very happy together, but it should be just fine with only sesame.

Radish Linguine with Spicy Sesame Sauce

1 pound of radishes, shredded (I used bleeding-hearts, but daikon should be wonderful)

3 cloves garlic, or so

1 grape-sized piece of ginger, peeled

oil for cooking garlic and ginger (I used peanut oil)

1 cup tahini (sesame paste)

1 tablespoon shoyu

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon hot pepper sesame oil

1 generous tablespoon unfiltered apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar

tea, water, or radish pot-liquor to thin the sauce

gomasio or cashew and hemp-sio

Cook the radish shreds in boiling salted water for two minutes; drain and set aside.

Peel the ginger and garlic. Slice the ginger 1/8 inch thick against the grain. Leave the garlic cloves whole. Cook the ginger and garlic a few minutes in oil until pale gold and fragrant. Scrape them into the bowl of a food-processor and grind to a paste. Add the sesame paste and the seasonings and mix well. With the machine running, add tea, water, or some of the cooking liquid from your radishes. The amount will vary depending on the consistency and freshness of your tahini, but it will be in the neighborhood of one cup. You will have extra sauce, but it is useful to have around to use on other vegetables or even real noodles.

Dress the radish shreds with the sauce. If desired sprinkle with gomasio or cashew and hemp-sio, and garnish with shreds of raw radish.

Cashew and Hemp-sio

1/2 cup roasted hemp seeds

½ cup raw cashew pieces

Grind the seeds and cashews together in a processor or grinder to desired consistency.

This is delicious and enjoyably slurpable. I can’t believe I would never have made this recipe if I hadn’t wanted that picture for my blog.

Really long food, such as noodles, are associated with longevity in many traditions. Momofuku Ando, the inventor of instant ramen, was in robust good health for all of his 96 years. Radish-shreds should be counted as well, especially since they are just squiggling with antioxidants.

Food and Drink, Recipes, Cooking, Food, Vegetarian, vegan, vegetables, antioxidant-rich foods, bleeding-heart radishes, watermelon radish, tahini, sesame sauce, pasta mimesis