Author Notes
Radishes and Hakurei white turnips have been a mainstay of my CSA box. I have wondered what a braised radish soup would be like – and playing off the combination of raw radishes and butter – I’ve added Yukon potatoes to bump up the buttery factor and Hakurei white turnips to add to the sweetness. Pink peppercorns are, in my mind, the perfect match for this soup – delicate, fruity with an underlying spiciness. Sometimes my CSA adds a bag of “roasting roots” including radishes, beets and turnips that have surface imperfections but are perfect for roasting. I used the imperfect radishes in this recipe by peeling them first – in part to utilize the radishes but also to preserve the color of the soup itself. - gingerroot —gingerroot
Test Kitchen Notes
The soup makes a great meal for a cool, rainy fall day. I wonder if it would be good chilled in case of an Indian summer day, but haven’t got to try that yet. Who knew that radishes would make an interesting variation on creamy potato soup? The directions were clear, but I used some substitutes; onion for leek, 2 bunches of supermarket radishes for 10 medium to large and 10 small Easter egg radishes, rutabagas instead of the Hakurei turnips, and water instead of stock. The soup was easy to make and tasted autumnal! Thanks gingerroot! - luvcookbooks —The Editors
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Ingredients
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3/4 cup
thinly sliced Japanese negi onion (I used one) - if negi is not available, leeks can be substituted
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2
large garlic cloves, smashed flat with the side of your knife and chopped
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3 1/2 tablespoons
unsalted butter
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10
medium to large round radishes (skin can be imperfect), ends trimmed, skin peeled
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10
small pink or red radishes, ends trimmed
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2 tablespoons
vermouth
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1
large and 1 medium Hakurei white turnip, peeled, cut into large dice (yield 1 generous cup)
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2
Yukon gold potatoes, peeled, cut into large dice
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1
cup Vegetable stock (canned or homemade)
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1/2 cup
heavy cream
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sea salt to taste
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1 1/2 teaspoons
whole pink peppercorns
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2 teaspoons
minced Italian parsley
Directions
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In a stockpot or Dutch oven with a lid, melt butter over medium heat. Add negi onions, garlic and cover pot. Halve peeled radishes. Add peeled radishes and whole small radishes to pot, covering and turning heat down to medium-low. Allow mixture to cook and braise for 8 minutes. After 8 minutes, add vermouth, cover pot and allow mixture to cook for 2 minutes more. Remove whole small radishes and set aside in a small bowl.
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Add diced potato, turnip and vegetable broth to pot. Stir mixture to combine. Cover pot and allow mixture to simmer for 15-20 minutes, until potato is tender when poked with a fork.
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While soup is simmering, using a mortar and pestle (or in a pinch, a small bowl and the back of a spoon) crush pink peppercorns and set aside. Dice reserved whole small radishes (now braised) and set aside.
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When vegetables are tender, remove pot from heat. Stir in cream. Add sea salt to taste. Add crushed pink peppercorns. Using an immersion blender (or alternatively, a food processor), carefully puree soup to desired consistency. Fold in Italian parsley. Serve soup topped with a teaspoon or two of the diced braised radish. Enjoy!
My most vivid childhood memories have to do with family and food. As a kid, I had the good fortune of having a mom who always encouraged trying new things, and two grandmothers who invited me into their kitchens at a young age. I enjoy cooking for the joy it brings me - sharing food with loved ones - and as a stress release. I turn to it equally during good times and bad. Now that I have two young children, I try to be conscientious about what we cook and eat. Right about the time I joined food52, I planted my first raised bed garden and joined a CSA; between the two I try to cook as sustainably and organically as I can. Although I'm usually cooking alone, my children are my favorite kitchen companions and I love cooking with them. I hope when they are grown they will look back fondly at our time spent in the kitchen, as they teach their loved ones about food-love.
Best of all, after years on the mainland for college and graduate school, I get to eat and cook and raise my children in my hometown of Honolulu, HI. When I'm not cooking, I am helping others grow their own organic food or teaching schoolchildren about art.
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