And now for something a little virtuous on All Saints’ Day, to help bring you down from the sugar high: radishes sautéed with brown butter and a spot of anchovy, tossed with kimchi, radish tops, and brown rice. Top it all off with a luscious fried egg, because hey hey, even saints need a little luxury.
Yield: 2 to 3 servings; also known as 2 dinners and 1 lunch (lucky you)
Chopping the radishes into irregular chunks makes for a more visually interesting dish, gives variance in texture, and makes the work go faster. Feel free to be more precise if you're having the Queen over for dinner.
This recipe calls for cooked brown rice, something I usually have in the fridge. My favorite method for cooking brown rice is from Alton Brown, and results in perfect brown rice. Every. Single. Time. You're welcome.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
1 bunch radishes with green tops, washed well
2 anchovy fillets
1/3 cup kimchi (chopped if necessary)
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice (preferably day-old and cold)
Juice of 1/2 lemon, or to taste
Soy sauce, to taste
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Butter or oil to fry eggs in (optional)
1 egg per person (optional)
Instructions
1. In a large sauté pan, heat the butter over medium-low heat until it browns and smells nutty. Meanwhile, trim the greens from the radishes and set aside. Roughly chop the radishes into irregular pieces, removing the root "tails" in the process.
2. When the butter has browned, turn the heat to medium-high and add the anchovy, mashing with a spatula or wooden spoon to break up the fillets. Throw in the radishes. Toss to coat with the butter, and season with a pinch of salt. Let cook until softened and just beginning to brown.
3. Add the kimchi, and let cook briefly, about 1 minute. Toss in the rice, and cook until it's as done as you prefer it (anywhere from just warm to crunchy and brown). Add the radish tops (no need to chop or dry them off), and toss or stir until wilted. Taste, and add lemon juice, a dash of soy sauce, salt, and pepper. Taste again and correct seasoning as you like. Remove to plates or a bowl, and keep warm.
4. Add a bit of butter or oil to the pan, and set over medium-high heat. Crack eggs into the pan and fry to desired doneness (runny yolks are highly recommended). Top the radishes and rice with the eggs, and serve at once. Beer, though not required, is really, really nice with this one.
I got a wild hair today and took myself to the farmers market. It’s shocking how rarely I go; every single time I tell myself I should do it more often. I always come home with the most unusual and wonderful things (and no cash left).
Today, one vendor had the tiniest French breakfast radishes, most of them no longer than an inch. I decided to call their bluff and actually eat them for breakfast, along with some sliced baguette, anchovy-parsley-butter that was lurking in the depths of the fridge, and the mandatory fleur de sel. Not shown, but also appearing were soft-boiled eggs, fat wedges of avocado, and iced coffee.
Totally crushing on this tiny guy on the end:
And one more shot of the fleur de sel, to stress its importance:
Here in Chicago, the granddaddy of all farmer’s markets is the Green City Market, the only market to stay open all year round. If you’re interested in local, sustainable, organic, farm-direct food (and we certainly all are, am I right? Every meal, right?), you’re bound to end up shopping at Green City for most of your food.
Their rigorous standards for their vendors guarantee that everything is as it appears, that you actually are buying those apples or tomatoes from the nice lady or man who grew them, not from a re-seller. And in the depths of Winter, when every other farmer’s market has shut down, Green City remains not as a deplorable sole option with a captive market, but as glamorous and worthy a destination as it is any other time of year.
too cold for most markets
Green City Market recently ran a photo essay contest, in which they invited food and photography junkies to shop at the market on a particular date, cook the food at home, and share the photos of the whole experience. I decided to participate on a whim, mostly because any excuse to practice and improve my photography skills is probably good for me.
You can see the photos I entered, along with all the other entries, on this site they’ve set up. If you like, you can rate each entry by clicking on the stars at the top of each one. And remember, thumbnails rarely do justice, so click on each photo to see it full-size.
As there was a limit to the number of pictures one could submit, I had to whittle down the over 100 photos I took that day, so I’m posting some extras here. And as a special bonus to all my lovely, lucky readers, below you’ll find the recipe I created to showcase the bounty I brought home from the market.
you can't pay someone enough to shell pecans for you. these are from three sisters garden.excellent cannelés from floriole bakeryfloriole bakeryheritage prairie farmsheritage prairie farmsheritage prairie farmsgenesis growersgenesis growersgenesis growers
Wheat Berries with Radishes and Pecans Serves 4 to 6
This recipe has a lot of different steps, true, but they are all accomplished in the time it takes the wheat berries to cook. Even better, you only use two pans: one for the wheat berries, one for every other step (with no washing-up required in between). The flavors here are Spanish-inspired, with smoked paprika, thyme, Sherry, and anchovy; the chewy wheat berries soak them all up with gusto. This dish would be great any time of year, warm in the Winter, and cold in the Summer. We ate this as a main dish, but it would also be a special side dish for any simply-prepared meat or poultry.
For wheat berries: 6 cups chicken stock or water
2 cups wheat berries, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon salt
3 anchovy fillets packed in oil, drained
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 tablespoon Sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (zest it first!)
1/4 cup (packed) chopped parsley
3 scallions, chopped
Salt and black pepper, to taste
For anchovy-toasted pecans:
3 anchovy fillets packed in oil, drained
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup raw pecans, chopped roughly
Salt, to taste
For smoked paprika breadcrumbs:
1 scant tablespoon butter
1/2 cup panko
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
Zest from 1 lemon
Salt, to taste
For sautéed radishes:
2 to 3 teaspoons butter
1 bunch radishes (about 1 pound), cut into quarters
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Optional finish: fried or soft-boiled eggs
1. Bring the chicken stock or water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Add the wheat berries and salt, and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, until wheat berries are tender. Depending on the type of wheat berry, this may take anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes; taste occasionally to determine doneness. Add additional liquid if the pot begins to dry out before the wheat berries are cooked. When fully cooked, drain wheat berries of any remaining liquid if necessary.
2. Meanwhile, heat a skillet over medium-low heat. Add the anchovy fillets and cook, stirring, until broken up, just a minute or two. Scrape into a large, non-reactive bowl, and whisk in olive oil. Let cool briefly. Add thyme and set aside. Don’t bother washing the skillet.
3. While wheat berries finish cooking, make the remaining accompaniments. To make the toasted pecans, heat the same skillet over medium heat. Add the anchovy fillets and cook, stirring, until broken up. Add the butter, and let melt. Toss the pecans in, and stir often until fragrant and toasted, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with a little salt. Remove to a plate to cool. Wipe the skillet out with a paper towel if necessary to remove any dark or burnt bits that may remain, but don’t bother washing it.
4. Heat the same skillet over medium-high heat. Add the butter, and melt. Add the panko, and toss until evenly coated with butter. Cook just until beginning to turn golden brown. Remove from heat, and stir in the paprika, lemon zest, and a pinch of salt. Transfer to a bowl. Don’t bother washing the skillet.
5. Heat the same skillet over medium-high heat. Add the butter, and melt. Add the radishes and sauté until cooked to desired doneness, 2 to 3 minutes for al dente, slightly spicy radishes, or up to 8 to 10 minutes for softer, less peppery ones. Remove from the heat and set aside.
6. To finish, add the Sherry vinegar, lemon juice, parsley, and scallions to the flavored olive oil in the large bowl. When the wheat berries are fully cooked, drain if necessary. Add to the bowl while still warm, and toss with the dressing. Let stand 5 minutes or so to absorb some of the dressing. This is a good time to fry or soft-boil an egg (follow these directions, but let stand only 4 minutes) if you’d like one; a runny egg yolk is highly recommended here. (If you’re frying an egg, there’s no reason you can’t use the same skillet again. Bonus.)
7. Toss the wheat berries with the toasted pecans and sautéed radishes. Serve each portion topped with an egg (if using) and a heavy-handed sprinkling of paprika breadcrumbs on top. Leftovers keep quite well in a refrigerator for up to a week, and are even better the second and third day.
