Is That A Radish In Your Pocket? Part II

[Haley watches fearfully as the radish descends.]

Okay. So how do you use a Daikon Radish? [Now, stop, besides that.]

I basically use them like I would an onion or potato. And this time of year I'm using them a lot. It's like squash in the Northeast in summer. And the greens are fantastic but have to be cooked for awhile.

Radish Fries

• Marinate in olive oil, cinnamon and cayenne pepper. A little bit of salt. [Cumin and honey would also work, experiment!]
• Roast 'em in an 425 degree oven for 30 mins, turning every 10 mins. [Okay, I'm not sure about the times, I just test every 10 mins until they are crispy on the outside and cooked through.]
  

Southern Style Radish Greens Recipe
[a nice article on the history of southern greens here]

• Saute some onions [or green onions, in my case].
• If you want to cut down on oil, saute in a little vegetable stock.
  
• Cook the onions until they are done.
  
• Take the smoked turkey you bought at the grocery store [necks, whatever, it don't matter] and throw them in next. Move the onions around so the skin touches the pan. [Many classic recipes have this step first.] Turn up the heat high so that the the turkey gets good and hot. This releases the remaining fat and really flavors the greens. Cook about 10 mins, and then flip the turkey parts and cook another 10 mins. [Again, my timing is an estimate, just watch so it doesn't burn.]
• Take the big ass daikon radish you pulled out of the weed patch next to the road, cube it, and throw it in.
• Add enough water to cover everything.
• Add two pinches of red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.
• Add about 6 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.
• Chop up the radish greens from your big ass road radish and throw them in.
• Cover and boil.

I usually boil for like 5 mins, then turn down for a high simmer. I cook until the turkey meat comes off the bone. There are tons of variations on this recipe. You can add garlic. If I've got tomatoes or other veggies going bad I'll often throw them in [but maybe not mushrooms]. Srsly, you can feed 10 people for about $6.00 worth of smoked turkey parts.