The first few farmers markets in spring feature primarily green-hued leaves and veggies: think spinach, arugula, lettuces, asparagus, dill, cilantro, and the like. The shades of green are a welcome sight after months of winter’s brown landscapes.
Spring veggies almost all prefer temps that drop enough to close the windows in the middle of the night. Despite how welcome the greens are, after months of neutral, earth tones, some of us crave color.
And there are notable exceptions, such as beets and radishes, to the green-tinted veggies. Although beets and radishes prefer cooler temperatures, too, they defy the spring green trend. Radishes and beets, while topped with edible green leaves, come in a variety of colors and flavors.
At the farmers markets, you’ll mostly find radishes wearing bright, candy-hued skins — rosy pinks, juicy reds, deep purples and even solid whites that could be mistaken for tiny salad turnips, but there are a tremendous variety of radish colors including black, yellow, purple, green and brown. You’ll also see lots of shapes and sizes when it comes to radishes. Relatives of the cabbage family, crunchy radishes (Raphanus sativus L.) can be small, mild-flavored globes (early scarlet) or giant spicy roots (daikon).
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Kelly Tripp of Lincoln, who was buying a bunch of bright red rock sand radishes from Jay Wolff of Wolff Farms in Norfolk, said she often just washes and eats them.
“If I’m making a spinach salad with carrots, celery and other vegetables, I’ll slice up a few radishes and put them on the salad, as well,†Tripp said, “but I like to just eat a handful of them, too.â€
Shadow Brook Farm grows radishes throughout the spring and fall, taking advantage of the cooler temps that radishes like, and their white icicle radishes are ready right now.
“Radishes don’t like heat, and they’re pretty fast-growing in spring and fall,†says Diane Loth of Shadow Brook Farm. “If I eat them, I’ll put them on salads, but my mother loved radishes, and she ate radish sandwiches. She spread white bread with butter, slicing the radishes very thinly.â€
Quick refrigerator pickling is a popular way to serve radishes, too, and most recipes live up to the quick part of their names. Additionally, the pickling liquid takes on whatever color the skin of the radish is, adding a splash of spring color to the meal.
As with radishes, the familiar deep reddish pink color of beets is not the only member of that thick-skinned family; you’ll also see white, gold, yellow, black and candy-cane colored beets. Beets (Beta vulgaris L.) have a rich earthy scent and flavor, and they’re versatile in the kitchen whether you roast, steam, pickle or boil them.
The sugars in beets caramelize when you roast them, and many vendors and shoppers at the Old Cheney Road Farmers Market mentioned that leaving the skins on and roasting was their preferred method for cooking beets.
“Roasting definitely brings out the beet’s sweetness,†said Chloe Diegel, Robinette Farms in Martell. “We roast them first and then eat them warm or cold, adding the roasted beets to green salads with chevre or feta cheese and veggies.â€
As Patti Gardner of Lincoln bought a bunch of beets from Susan Miller of Grandview Farm in Fremont, the two women chatted about the best way to prepare them.
“I cut the greens off, leave the rest of the beet whole, and set them on foil in the oven," Gardner said. "Cover them with foil, too, and then roast them at 375 degrees. After two hours, the skins slip right off, and I eat them just like that or chill them to put on salads.â€
The three farmers markets that are open now -- Haymarket (8 a.m. to noon Saturday), Old Cheney (10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday) and Fallbrook (4:30-8 p.m. Thursday) feature plenty of beets and radishes. Once the heat and humidity of summer set in, and temps no longer get down in the chilly range overnight, you’ll have to wait until fall for the next round of these colorful, tasty veggies.
Quick Refrigerator Pickled Radishes
1 bunch large radishes
¾ cup white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
¾ cup water
2 teaspoon Kosher salt
3 tablespoons of honey
Optional, to taste: Sliced garlic, black peppercorns, mustard seeds, coriander seeds or red pepper flakes or herbs, such as fresh dill
Slice off the radish greens and roots, and slice the radishes thinly. Put them in a clean, quart jar, and put in whatever optional flavors you’d like.
In a small saucepan, combine the vinegar, water, honey and salt, and boil the mixture for a few minutes until the salt dissolves. Pour over the radish mixture.
Let the jar cool to room temperature, and serve immediately or cover and refrigerate. The pickled radishes will keep for several weeks.
