Radish Greens Chimichurri

Do you have "radish greens remorse" every time you toss out delicious looking radish tops? Good news - it doesn't have to be this way! The green leafy tops of radishes and many other vegetables such as turnips, beets, and daikon are perfectly edible and delicious. You can use them as you would other green leafy vegetables, though radish greens in particular can be a little fuzzy and benefit from a bit of processing such as chopping, blending, sautéing, or the addition of an acid. 

Eating "root to leaves" with sliced radish, avocado, and radish greens chimichurri rye toast.

There are a lot of different words for somewhat similar green sauces: chimichurri, salsa verde, gremolata, chermoula... and at first I deliberated over what to call this particular green sauce. I settled on "chimichurri", as it has a similar combination of vinegar, garlic, and green that you find in traditional chimichurri, just with radish tops in place of parsley and oregano. This sauce can be made with pretty much any edible green that would otherwise be discarded, even wild greens such as dandelion or plantain! It can also be adapted in numerous ways - try adding cilantro or tarragon for more bright herbaceous notes or increase the garlic if that's your jam. The sauce works great on almost anything from grilled vegetables and meat to white beans or breakfast tacos. Really, every time I make it, I end up adding it to all my meals for a few days. You can also eat "root to leaves" by topping a sliced radish and avocado rye toast with a drizzle! Recipe makes 2/3 cup.

Don't toss those beautiful radish greens!

• 2-3 (loosely packed) cups chopped radish greens, washed

• 1 medium shallot bulb, chopped

• 1 clove garlic, chopped

• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar

• Pinch salt

• 2 teaspoons olive oil

1. Heat about 1/2 cup water in small saucepan until simmering. Add radish greens, toss to coat, and cook until softened and dark green (about 30 seconds).

2. Remove greens and squeeze out excess water. Using an immersion blender or food processor, blend greens with shallots, garlic, rice vinegar, salt, and olive oil until combined, but still coarse. Drain excess liquid if needed and keep chilled up to 4 days until use.

The Regal Elderflower

Processing elderflower for fermented cordial with the Nordic Food Lab crew. We were all covered in pollen after this flower-plucking session! Species of elder likely Sambucus nigra.

There's something truly special about the elder, or Sambucus, plant and I've always felt a special connection to it. Not only does it proclaim to the world that summer is approaching and provide culinary and medicinal benefits, but it also somehow manages to be both utterly wild and elegantly refined at the same time. The plant is likely called "elder" because it is so old that you can find varieties of it around the world. It's no surprise then that so many cultures have different symbolisms and uses attached to Sambucus including (but definitely not limited to) the below.

Symbolism

• Shakespeare: Grief (the "stinking elder"), yet also beloved

• Pagan: Superstitions around cutting it back or burning it (will cause bad luck)

• Danish: The elder Mother or "vegetation goddess" lives in the tree (HyldeMoer) - you need to ask her permission before cutting it.

• Sicilians: Kill serpents and drive away robbers

• Serbians: Good luck if used during the wedding ceremony

• England: Hold in pocket to ward off lightning, cross above animals to ward off evil

Supposed Medicinal Uses (Note: I have not looked into the scientific evidence supporting any of the below, but rather wanted to show the breadth of supposed medicinal uses)

• Bark: Purgative, emetic, diuretic, asthma (not consumed anymore due to toxins)

• Leaves: Bruises/sprains, wound healing, expectorant, diuretic (not consumed anymore due to toxins)

• Flowers: Tea for swollen sinuses, colds, flu, diabetes, constipation, rheumatism, influenza, relaxant, complexion, blood purification

• Berries: Hot wine for influenza, asthma, juice for antiviral/antibacterial

Food

• Flowers: Cordial (St.Germain is an elderflower liqueur), desserts, jelly, shrub, fritters

• Berries: Cordial, wine, syrup, desserts, jelly, etc.

The elder tree can grow up to 25 feet tall and has reddish bark and pinnate leaves opposite of each other. The tiny star-shaped flowers, which bloom in May/June, are a yellowish white/cream color and grow in clusters. The elder plant that you will find in Northern California (and most of the Western United States) is Sambucus cerulea, also known as blue elder for it's dark blue berries. The berries can be found later in the summer, are a bluish/black often with a whitish powder sheen and also grow in large clusters. 

ELDERFLOWER AND ELDERBERRIES MUST BE PROCESSED BEFORE CONSUMING. Don't just go around grabbing handfuls and consuming them raw like you would blackberries! However, the berries may be fine in small amounts and both berries and flowers are definitely safe after cooking or drying. When using the flowers, such as in this elderflower chive fritter recipe, it's best to remove as much of the stem as possible, but some stem is fine if cooked.

Notice tiny star-shaped flowers. This Sambucus nigra from Europe has larger clusters and whiter flowers than the Sambucus cerula of California. 

My first experience with elderflower (other than St.Germain) was during my stint as a visiting researcher at the Nordic Food Lab in Denmark. We spent a morning riding all over Copenhagen to forage huge clusters of elderflowers and stuffing them into sacks before plucking the flowers to be used in a fermented cordial. I still fondly remember being covered in pollen afterward while enjoying a well-deserved chocolate rye roll. Denmark is really a magical place and elderflowers unsurprisingly about there. The elderflowers you find in Denmark are most likely to be Sambucus nigra rather than the Sambucus cerulea that is found in California and are a bit larger and whiter, but both have the same beautiful fragrance and uses. As I left Denmark before the berries came out and just recently found a spot for elder in California, I have yet to experiment with the berries, but am greatly looking forward to doing so this summer!

Yellower, yet still star-shaped, flowers of the Sambucus cerula foraged from Tilden Park in Berkeley, CA.