You have probably heard the expression “diamond in the rough.” Well, what about “vitamins in your rubbish pile?” That is exactly what you have when you throw away your radish tops. I know, I know, it is probably an automatic reflex to just break those greens off and toss them away. It’s cool, if you are okay with tossing a significant source of calcium, iron, magnesium, folate, vitamin A, C, K and other nutrients into the trash. Not only are radish greens edible, they are the most nutritious part of the plant! It is worth the effort to find a good source of fresh radishes with live, abundant greens. Here is just one example of an easy way to utilize fresh radish greens. The slightly bitter bite of the radish and the fresh, sweet mango are like two peas in the pod…sorry I couldn’t resist the cliche!
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radish greens & rice noodles with fresh mango
1 bunch fresh radish tops 2 cloves garlic, slivered 2 Chinese scallions, sliced on the bias 1/4 cup fresh thai basil or traditional basil, julienned Half a fresh mango, peeled and diced 1 tbsp. coconut oil Half a package King Soba organic brown rice vermicelli OPTIONAL VEGGIES 1 bunch broccolini, cut into manageable pieces 1/2 red bell pepper, julienned 5 shiitake mushrooms, julienned SEASONING SAUCE 1/2 cup organic tamari 1 fresh lime, juiced 2 tbsp. unseasoned rice vinegar 2 tbsp. pure agave nectar 2 (+/-) tsp. chile garlic or other hot sauce (depending on how spicy you like it)
Cook the vermicelli per manufacturer’s instructions. Drain, rinse, and cool off. Reserve about a half a cup of the vermicelli water with a ladle before draining. You may want some of the water later to give the sauce some consistency. Prepare your seasoning sauce by mixing all the ingredients in a small mixing bowl, and set aside. To prepare the dish, working quickly, In a wok or large saute pan, heat the coconut oil and cook the scallions and garlic for just a minute. If you are using the optional vegetables, add the most dense vegetables first, the broccolini and mushrooms, followed by the peppers. Add the radish greens just at the end and sauté for a couple minutes. Add half of the seasoning sauce, mix well, and add the vermicelli. Taste for flavor and consistency.
If you like a drier stir fry it is probably good now. If you like more sauce, add some more seasoning sauce, and a little of the pasta water, and continue to cook and mix until it is well mixed and silky. Be careful, I added too much sauce and it got a little soupy. But it was still yummy. At the very end, remove from the heat and add the fresh mango and basil, and mix one more time. This entire cooking process shouldn’t take longer than 10 minutes. You don’t want to cook all the nutrition out of your vegetables and radish greens. Serve immediately. NOTE: Any stir fry vegetable would be good in this dish.
radish greens & rice noodles with fresh mango
Ingredients
- 1 bunch fresh radish tops
- 2 cloves garlic slivered
- 2 Chinese scallions sliced on the bias
- 1/4 cup fresh thai basil or traditional basil julienned
- 1/2 of a fresh mango peeled and diced
- 1 tbsp. coconut oil
- Half a package King Soba organic brown rice vermicelli
- OPTIONAL VEGGIES
- 1 bunch broccolini cut into manageable pieces
- 1/2 red bell pepper julienned
- 5 shiitake mushrooms julienned
- SEASONING SAUCE
- 1/2 cup organic tamari
- 1 Fresh lime juiced
- 2 tbsp. unseasoned rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp. pure agave nectar
- 2 tsp. chile garlic or other hot sauce +/-, depending on how spicy you like it
Instructions
- Cook the vermicelli per manufacturer's instructions. Drain, rinse, and cool off. Reserve about a half a cup of the vermicelli water with a ladle before draining. You may want some of the water later to give the sauce some consistency.
- Prepare your seasoning sauce by mixing all the ingredients in a small mixing bowl, and set aside.
- To prepare the dish, working quickly, In a wok or large saute pan, heat the coconut oil and cook the scallions and garlic for just a minute. If you are using the optional vegetables, add the most dense vegetables first, the broccolini and mushrooms, followed by the peppers. Add the radish greens just at the end and sauté for a couple minutes.
- Add half of the seasoning sauce, mix well, and add the vermicelli. Taste for flavor and consistency. If you like a drier stir fry it is probably good now. If you like more sauce, add some more seasoning sauce, and a little of the pasta water, and continue to cook and mix until it is well mixed and silky. Be careful, I added too much sauce and it got a little soupy. But it was still yummy.
- At the very end, remove from the heat and add the fresh mango and basil, and mix one more time. This entire cooking process shouldn't take longer than 10 minutes. You don't want to cook all the nutrition out of your vegetables and radish greens. Serve immediately.
- NOTE: Any stir fry vegetable would be good in this dish.