We have been enjoying our first harvest of radishes from our little garden lately. Indeed! It seems that the hard work on our garden really pay off. The rainy days and the spring weather were fantastic for the radishes to grow.
They came out beautiful!
And they taste incredibly amazing too.
Peppery, crispy and fresh.
J. and I have been anxious watching the radishes grow little by little every day. After they started to appear I couldn’t resist taking pictures of these cute pink-red balloons. And we still very excited about them as they are the first vegetables we growth.
And I couldn’t miss ‘the moment’ we pulled them out from the ground either, of course :)
Our food has been loaded with radishes and their lovely green -crispy leaves. So we’ve been craving radishes in all the ways possible. Raw, baked, sliced, sauté …
Last Friday I made toasted bread bites as part of our lunch. Toasted slices of bread spread with a bit of mayonnaise, radish leaf, thin slices of radishes, grated parmesan cheese and some thyme leaves on top. J. couldn’t stop eating them.
The little bites were gone on a blink of an eye.
The following day, we headed to the farmer’s market to get our usual tray of fresh eggs.
I hope the asparagus turned up already, I told J while we were driving. ''It would be so nice to have a fresh asparagus salad'' With Vinaigrette? -he asked with a smile on his face. Great idea, we can basil Vinaigrette!
I love a fresh asparagus ribbon salad with lots of parmesan cheese. Incredibly delicious and delicate.
Oh, yes, the asparagus were there! So you can imagine how excited I was to see the fresh asparagus at the farmers market. I jumped to the table of glorious vegetables and picked a good large quantity of them.
Yes, I do love asparagus season!
They look and smell *so* nice!
That’s what I like about veggies from the farmer’s market – Their taste and their freshness.
As soon as we got home and Inspired by this vegetable and J. suggestion, I began preparing and making our salad.
I’d shaved the asparagus and I sliced some pears to add a bittersweet flavor to the salad. The addition of the vinaigrette made this salad joyful.
And for dessert pionono (remember this cake) -cake roll with dulce de leche-topped with a dollop of mascarpone cheese and dry cherries.
I couldn’t stop liking the spoon after spreading the dulce de leche on the cake.
Irresistible! Isn’t it?
On Sunday, early in the morning we went swimming, soon it was time for lunch. And after such a relaxing morning, I was looking forward to cook something that requires little to zero work :)
A couple of savory tarts with cream cheese, lots of radish leaves, tomato slices, onions and radishes.
Served with an avocado salad with olive oil, lemon juice and sea salt.
And some vanilla ice cream for dessert.
I feel like taking a nap, don’t you? J. asked.
I couldn’t agree more.
I wish everybody a wonderful and colorful weekend!
Asparagus and Pear Salad with Parmesan and Basil Vinaigrette
Serves 2
8 Asparagus (preferable with thick stalks)
2 pears, sliced
1 medium cucumber, sliced
Parmesan cheese, as much as you like
Feta cheese, as much as you like
Basil vinaigrette
Preparation:
Shave asparagus into ribbons (** see below for how to ribbon)- Take every single stalk on its side on a cutting board. And holding onto the tough end start to shave off thin asparagus ribbons from stalk to tip (Reserve the rough ends to make a nice soup or to slice them for a nice risotto when you’re done).
Add ribbons, pears and cucumbers into a bowl. Add vinaigrette and toss gently. Topped with feta and parmesan cheese. I was skeptical about eating raw asparagus you can always sauté the asparagus with bit of olive oil after you shaved them.
(**)To shave asparagus into ribbons you can use either a vegetable peeler or a mandolin (just be very- very careful when using it).
Radish- Radish Leaves- Tomato- Onion- Savory Tart makes 1 2 sheet puff pastry, thawed
Cream cheese, spreadable
Bunch of radish Leaves
2 Medium Tomatoes, sliced
2 medium onions, sliced
6 Radishes, sliced
Salt and pepper, to taste
Preparation:
Place the two pastry sheets on a greased baking tray and turn up edges-to form a border (about 2 cm) Spread cream cheese, add radish leaves, tomato slices, onions and radishes. Salt and pepper and bake in a preheated oven (200 C / 390 F) for about 10- 15 minutes. Cut and serve.
