Sauteed Sugar Snaps & Radishes

Thursday, July 24, 2008

I know, I know, this sounds really weird. Bear with me for a minute though and you might change your mind. Tonight I had a meeting to go to and not much time to cook dinner. I had just unloaded my produce from The Farm and was sitting at my computer in a I-have-to-make-something-but-am-tired-of-normal-food funk. I happened upon this recipe from Smitten Kitchen, a food blog I regularly read. The first time I had seen it a few days ago I instantly dismissed it as just plain odd, but today it was like the heavens parted, a beam of light fell on my computer, and a voice told me to make this. I have no idea why it was so appealing, consdering I don't even like radishes and I eat sugar snap peas cold. So to combine two seemingly wrongly suited foods together and heat them up seemed so unlike my tastebuds. But I obeyed and am glad for it.

Radishes have always been just a bit too sharp and spicy for me. I will eat them, but I would never get them for myself. However, getting produce in the box that I don't have much control over makes me try new things and learn that I actually do like them. Case in point: radishes. These Easter Egg Radishes are just a sight to behold. Bold colors and bodies the size of a limes, they are not to be taken lightly. Tasty straight from the field, but their flavors become more mellow with a pleasing kick when you heat them up and soften them just a bit.

I'm sorry I didn't get great pictures of this dish. I just didn't have the time to make it look pretty. It doesn't matter though because baby, look at that color! Those radishes are amazing.



Like always, I altered the original recipe. Here's what I did:

• No orange juice in the house, so I used a quarter of a lemon and squeezed it over the top
• No fresh dill or dill seeds either, just used dried dill
  
• No shallots in the house, just used red onions. You could use any sort of onion-ey type of, well, onion... red, white, green, even garlic
• No butter was used, mainly because I was too lazy to get it out of the fridge. It would add a nice flavor, but not entirely necessary. Eh, I liked it even without.

Sauteed Radishes and Sugar Snaps with Dill

To remove strings from fresh peas, just snap off the stem end and pull string lengthwise down each pod.

Makes 6 servings.

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots
12 ounces sugar snap peas, trimmed, strings removed
2 cups thinly sliced radishes (about 1 large bunch)
1/4 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon dill seeds
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

Melt butter with oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté until golden, about 5 minutes. Add sugar snap peas, cook for one to two minutes, and radishes sauteing until crisp-tender, about 3 to 4 minutes more. Add orange juice and dill seeds; stir 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in chopped dill. Transfer to bowl; serve.