What: We're all familiar with radishes. But beyond the brightly hued and bracingly flavoured roots, the plant yields another delectable product: the radish pod. These green pods, about the size of a pinky, are the fruits of the radish plant, explains David Cohlmeyer of Cookstown Greens in Cookstown, Ont.
"It has a radish flavour, but it's more like the winter radish flavour," he says. "It's kind of mild and sweet, with just a bit of heat."
When: Generally available from June until October, or when frost sets in.
How: Chef Martin Kouprie of Toronto's Pangaea Restaurant says to "keep it nice and simple" when preparing radish pods.
Parboiled: He suggests parboiling them, to tenderize them, then serving them in a bowl as a snack, as you might edamame beans.
Bring a cold pot of salted water to a boil and immerse the radish pods. They should be tender and ready within about three to four minutes. Drain and plunge them into ice water to stop the cooking process.
"Just [add]a bit of salt and some butter, and Bob's your uncle," he says.
Stir-fried: Add them to stir-fries with some chopped garlic, chervil and chives, Mr. Kouprie suggests. It's up to your imagination what else you'd like to add.
"Because they're so zippy, [the taste]always has this Asian connotation to it in my mind," Mr. Kouprie says. "You could put a splash of soy sauce in it, if you want. And if you don't have chervil, you can use some coriander for a nice, contrasting flavour."
Wency Leung