Radishes, Scallions and Endive Sautéed

 

I offer a pure and simple side alternative to a green salad alongside grilled foods this summer.  Garden ingredients with a bite mellow out under the influence of olive oil and a quick sauté.

On their own, radishes can be cooked until they almost brown and will remind you of small red new potatoes, with a little extra spin.  Root around in your vegetable draw to see what else you can mix in or serve the radishes alone.  

Scallions add a sweet onion flavor when sautéed.  The small hearts of endives were added to the pan last since they only needed a quick bronzing.  Pick small vegetables and cut them into halves and fourths so they retain as much of their crudité look as possible.

  

Extra sautéed radishes can lead in a wilted kale salad the next day.  Here, sliced apples and leftover, cooked sliced potatoes were tossed together in a sauté pan with a generous amount of olive oil over medium-high heat.  They were cooked until the apples were softened and the potatoes began to crisp.  Leftover sautéed radishes joined the pan followed by a big mound of raw chopped kale.  Toss the kale to coat it with the olive oil in the pan then add apple cider vinegar, maple syrup or honey and salt and pepper.  The sweet sour dressing is a good foil to hearty kale but does not overwhelm. 

Proportions for
Apple-Radish-Potato Kale Salad
Serves 2
2/3 cup sautéed radish halves and quarters
2 small potatoes, sliced, cooked
1 apple, sliced (peeled or unpeeled)
8-10 cups chopped raw kale, torn in bite-sized pieces
3 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoon maple syrup or honey
salt and pepper
optional: 2 tablespoons raisins or other small, dried fruit