Radish leaves

[toffeeman]

Have grown radish in the border of the greenhouse and the leaves look so good - too good for the compost heap. Anybody here put them to culinary use?

[naturediva]

Hi toffeeman
In 'Cook Your Own Veg' by Carol Klein she writes :-
Harvesting radishes.....At an early stage you can harvest most of the leaves - the baby ones raw in salads, small ones shredded for a peppery lift to mild salads and bigger ones wilted as a green vegetable, akin to beet leaves or coarse coriander or celery leaves in the Asian giants.....
I hope this inspires you to give them a try.

[Johnboy]

Hi Both,
Turnip tops are good to eat as well. I have only eatern them cooked though.
JB.

[toffeeman]

many thanks

I'm inspired

[Greenman]

I find radish leaves very soon become too "prickly" and not good to eat. What I grow are cime di rapa (also go by many other names) these are very good raw when young or cooked when older.
Have a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapini

[Primrose]

I've tried wilting down the odd young radish leaf to use in a pasta sauce to give a similar peppery taste to rocket but but they very quickly become tough and unpalatable, and badly bitten with bugs. But it's worth experimenting with the leaves of many plants which normally don't get eaten as they can be a valuable additional food source. Large beetroot leaves can be cooked like spinach, the young leaves are great in salads. Young blackcurrant bush leaves also give an unusual flavour to salads, as do nastursion leaves and flowers, and the purple flowers of chives.

[alan refail]

Primrose

A good suggestion. The Greeks use all sorts of leaves in χόρτα βραστά