Friday, May 21, 2010

French Breakfast Radish Tartines

When I was younger, I used to tend to a little vegetable garden in our backyard. I was pretty successful and would always have tender sugar snap peas to harvest during winter and juicy cherry tomatoes during the summer. I would also grow radishes. They were easy to tend to--they didn't have tendrils or vines to support with cumbersome structures--and it was fun plucking them out of the dirt. However, I used to only be able to appreciate radishes for their beauty. I would bring in bunches of bright pink radishes and no one in our family would eat them. I didn't enjoy the spicy flavor of radishes, and we had absolutely no idea what to do with them.

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Almost 10 years later, I have finally discovered my love for the flavor of radishes. I still find them to be one of the most visually appealing vegetables, but now I can gladly give into the lure of vibrantly colored radishes. These radish tartines (open-faced sandwiches) are perfect for tea time. Dainty and beautiful, they elegant yet incredibly easy to assemble. And they're très français ;) My mom and I enjoyed them with some wine between lunch and dinner. It was lovely.

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A thin slice of whole grain bread from La Brea, some good french butter, a sprinkling of coarse sea salt and chopped parsley is all you need to complement these beautiful French breakfast radishes. The slices of radishes provide a peppery kick and satisfying crunch that is refreshing and addicting. Next time I plan on making an herb butter to bring an extra layer of flavor.

French Breakfast Radish Tartines

1 bunch French breakfast radishes
1 loaf whole grain La Bread bread
french unsalted butter, room temperature
coarse sea salt
parsley

1. cut bread into 1/2 inch slices (I didn't toast the bread)

2. slice radishes as thinly as possible

3. spread a layer of butter on the bread and arrange the radish slices on top

4. sprinkle with coarse sea salt and chopped parsley

5. enjoy with a cool glass of white wine

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It's amazing how something so simple can have such delicious flavors.

7 comments:

  1. yum so classy. i love nothing more than good radishes and salt.

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  2. oh these look soooo delicious...I grow radish myself, so I eat these all the time....they also taste delicious with fromage blanc instead of butter :)

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  3. I'm a radish lover and just made something similar. Your photos are poetic.

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  4. Oh my god these are my favorite! My mom and I ate them constantly when I was little and we had a garden and grew radishes. Mmm they are so good.

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  5. Might I recommend trying a little chevre with the radishes. They served something to that effect during The Vegetable Dinners at Animal and I thought the pairing worked beautifully

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  6. @Epicuryan: It's like you read my mind. I've only recently developed a love for chevre so it'd perfect.

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  7. Tweeting about small home gardens I mentioned French Breakfast to @DavidMTaylor and he kindly replied with a link to this post.

    enjoy! :-)
    @ITGeek / @bentrem

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