Radish (Raphanus sativus) are my favourite “filler” plants because they grow quickly and don’t take up much space. Radish are great for filling in the gaps between other plants or sowing alongside them as they will be ready to harvest well before your other vegetables need the space. The whole plant can be eaten root to shoot making it an excellent source of food.
Radish is easy to grow and can be grown for most of the year if given the right environment.
‘Black Spanish Long‘ – Black skin with contrasting white flesh. Fun to grow for something different.Strong flavour. Great fresh or roasted. Harvest 22-60 days.
‘Diakon‘ – Large white radish. Mild flavour. Great for pickling and fermenting. 60cm long. Harvest 30-60 days.
How to Grow Radish
During Spring and Summer find a sunny spot with periods of shade so the Radish doesn’t get too hot and go to flower. In the cooler months of autumn and winter plant your radish in a full sun position. Radish and root vegetables tend to do best when sown directly into the garden. Prepare your soil by adding in compost or composted manure. Free draining soil that is not compact will allow the roots to grow. Wet down the soil first and place your radish seeds 3-4cm apart. Sprinkle with a thin layer of soil just enough to cover the seeds. Water again with a light sprinkle. Keep the soil moist and the seeds should pop up within the first few days.
Radish can also be grown in pots or containers.
I like to plant a few seeds around other vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli etc. The radish will be ready to eat before the other plants have grown big enough to shade them out or need the space. This can help you maximise the space you have to produce food.
When to Plant Radish
All Year round in most locations. In some cold climates, they may not grow in the winter. When growing in summer provide some shade or plant between other plants to offer protection from the midday heat.
Care/ Maintenance
Small radish seedlings can be a delicious snack for your garden pests. Check them regularly when they are young. Radish will benefit from some liquid feed or natural fertilizer such as seaweed solution about two weeks into their growth cycle. Be careful not to get it on the leaves as this can burn the delicate growth.
Pests / Disease
Young Radish will be vulnerable to pests such as slugs, snails, slaters and aphids. Check your seedlings regularly.
How/ When to Harvest
Radish are best picked when they are young or just ready. Leaving radish too long will result in a fibrous texture. After about 4 weeks the roots will start to rise out of the soil and you can harvest the larger ones first. If the bulbs start to split harvest them straight away. Radish will split when they get an excess of water. So it can be a good idea to harvest your radish before big rains.
Reproducing
The best way to reproduce radish is to save the seeds. Let some of your best-looking radishes go to flower and then small seed pods will appear. Let them go until they are starting to go brown and hard. Then harvest the pods and let them dry. The seeds will be inside the pods. Split them open and shake out the tiny seeds into a brown paper bag. Save these somewhere dry and cool to replant.
Cooking and Using Radish
Radish tends to be underutilised in the kitchen. They are great fresh in a salad but there are so many other delicious ways to use your radish harvests.
Rainbow slaw not only looks amazing but it’s also packed full of nutrients. Just like planting diversity creates a healthy garden, eating diversely also has many health benefits. Each vegetable has different levels of vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, dietary fibre, and antioxidants. This slaw can be adjusted to suit your seasonal produce – see the notes for other vegetables to try out. Rainbow slaw is very quick and easy to make and can be a delicious and wholesome accompaniment to any meal.
Rainbow Slaw
Vibrant and full of nutrients, this Rainbow Slaw is the ultimate Spring side salad.
Ingredients
1 cup shredded Red Cabbage
2-3 Carrots
1 cup chopped Lettuce
1 medium Red Beetroot
3-4 Radishes
5cm cube Butternut Pumpkin
2 TBS Sunflower Seeds
Dressing
3 TBS Coconut (or greek) Yoghurt
1 tsp Lemon Juice
1 Clove Garlic
2 tsp finely chopped fresh Fennel Frond or Parsley
1 TBS Water
1 Tbs Olive Oil
1/2 tsp Chilli Flakes
Salt and Pepper to season
Instructions
Rinse your veggies and clean off any grit or soil.
Finely slice the Cabbage using the thin-medium section of the mandolin. If you don't have a mandoline, you can either grate or finely slice using a knife.
Peel the Carrot, Butternut, and Beetroot (The skins dressed in olive oil and seasoned make delicious chips - see notes below).
Using the Julienne teeth on the mandoline, finely slice the Carrot, Radish, Butternut, and Beetroot into thin strips. Use a grater if you do not have a mandoline.
Roughly chop your lettuce into small pieces.
Add a little of each vegetable to a bowl so they are all mixed without having to stir through (otherwise the beetroot will turn everything red and you will lose some of your colours).
Drizzle with olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice. Lightly toss.
To make the dressing, add yogurt to a small bowl. Then add crushed garlic, finely chopped fennel frond, lemon juice, water, chilli flakes, and salt and pepper to season. Stir well and taste. Add extra salt or lemon juice if needed.
When ready to serve, drizzle the dressing over the salad and top with sunflower seeds and edible flowers - I used nasturtium petals.
Notes
- Use vegetable skins from Carrot, Beetroot, and Butternut to make vegetable chips
Coat your skins in a light drizzle of oil.
Place your vegetable skins on a baking tray and sprinkle with a little salt.
Cook at 190 degrees celsius for about 5 minutes turning once halfway through. Keep an eye on them as they are so thin they will overcook easily.
Remove when they are golden and slightly crispy. They will also crisp up as they cool.
- Other vegetables that would be great in this slaw are: coloured Capsicums, Fennel, Nasturtium leaves, other Beetroot Varieties.
Rosemary and roast vegetables are a classic combo for a very good reason… They taste amazing! These Rosemary, Feta and Roast Veggie hand pies are so full of flavour and will keep you wanting more. This recipe, like most of my recipes, is completely versatile to what you have growing in your garden. Recipes that can be easily adapted to suit your seasonal harvests will make your life so much easier. Read the notes section for optional ingredients to swap.
This recipe can also be used for leftovers. Pre-make a batch of pastry and keep it in the freezer ready to turn your leftover Sunday roasts into delicious hand pies.
Rosemary, Feta and Roast Veggie Hand Pies
Yield: 16 hand pies
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour50 minutes
These Rosemary, Feta and Roast Veggie hand pies are so delicious. It may be useful to make two batches of pastry and keep one set in the freezer for future leftover roast veggies. This recipe could also be adapted to make one large family pie.
Ingredients
Pastry
150g cold Butter
2 cups Flour
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
5 TBS Iced Water
1 TBS Sugar
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup of fresh chopped Rosemary
Filling
500g Butternut Pumpkin
200g Sweet Potato or Potato
4 Radish (optional)
1 Red Onion
3 Cloves Garlic
1 fresh Rosemary stalk
Oil for Roasting
200g block of Feta
5-6 Rainbow Chard Stalks and Leaves
Sauce for Filling
3/4 cup Raw Cashews
3/4 cup Water
Instructions
Pastry
1. Cut the butter into 2cm cubes and place in the freezer for 5-10 minutes while preparing the other ingredients.
2. Add ice and water to a bowl.
3. Add the 5 TBSP of ice-cold water and egg yolks into a bowl and mix until combined. Set aside.
4. In a separate mixing bowl add butter and flour and rub together roughly. Try to do this quickly as to not heat the butter up too much with your hands.
5. Mix in the chopped rosemary, salt, apple cider vinegar, sugar then add the water and egg mixture to the flour mix a little at a time. Mixing to form a dough.
6. Roll to form a ball, cover (I use compostable film) and pop in the fridge to cool while you start on the filling.
Filling
1. Pre-heat your oven to 180degrees celsius.
2. Rinse and chop your Butternut Pumpkin and Sweet Potato into chunks (roughly 6cm. I like to leave the skin on both) and cut your Radish in half or leave whole if they are small.
3. Add to a large roasting dish and drizzle your veggies with oil. Strip and chop 1 stalk of fresh rosemary. Mix in with veggies.
4. Place your veggies in the oven for 25 mins.
5. While your veggies cook, dice the red onion and place in a frying pan with a drizzle of oil. Cook on a medium heat for 10min then add in chopped garlic for a further 2minutes.
6. Cut the rainbow chard stalks in to slices and roughly slice up the leaves. Add to the onion mix, stir and cook for 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
7. After 25minutes remove the roast veggies, mix and turn them over then add the block of feta to the centre. Put back in the oven for a further 20-30 minutes until cooked through.
8. While the veggies continue to cook, blend the raw almonds and water to make a cream. Refrigerate.
9. Remove the roast veggies once cooked and with a fork, roughly smash up the chunks of veggies and mix through the feta. Dont over mix as you want small pieces of veggies and feta in each bite. Add the onion and rainbow chard and mix through. Cover and allow the mix to cool.
Assembly
1. Remove your pastry from the fridge and roll on a floured surface. To make the small round hand pies, cut out 10cm diameter rounds at roughly 5mm thick. Use a cookie cutter or an upturned glass to get the outline and cut around with a knife (ensure you have an even amount for tops and bottoms). If you would like the larger half moon size - use a side plate to cut large rounds. Place the rounds on a plate or tray, cover and return to the fridge to cool down again for 10minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 200degrees celsius.
3. Drizzle the cashew cream over the roast veggie mix. Divide your pastry rounds in half so there are tops and bottoms. Then add one heaped tablespoon of veggie mix to each bottom. Place the other pastry round on top and carefully push down the edges to secure. Use a folk to further press and secure the edges. Make a small hole or slit in the top to allow air to escape during cooking. If making the half moon pies - add mixture to one side the fold the pastry over down the middle and secure the edges.
4. To create a nice brown finish, brush the pastry with egg wash (one egg mixed) or milk.
5. Return to the fridge for 10minutes to cool again.
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden. The larger half moon pies may take 15-20minutes.
7. Remove and serve warm with a fresh garden side salad or the green sauce from the Cauliflower recipe is also delicious combo.
Notes
1. The butter needs to be as cold as possible.
2. It is best to make the pastry ahead of time so it has a few hours to cool in the fridge.
3. Mix and match your favourite root vegetables such as carrots or beetroot.
4. To replace the fresh rosemary with dried rosemary use 1 TBS in the pastry and 1 tsp on the roast veggies.
5. Optional - replace the cashew cream with gravy.
6. Swap Rainbow chard for spinach or other greens.
7. Swap Feta for Cottage Cheese, Mozzarella or leave out if preferred.
