Toasted Sesame Radishes

A few weekends ago when I was visiting A in NYC, I spent a little time in Book Hampton.  And I have to say, the cookbook selection was perfect.  I recognized how nice it is to go into small bookstores, because the selection is a good quality variety of hot books.

I came upon one book called The Book of Tapas, which I just received yesterday.  So today, I spent the whole bus ride to yoga, carefully paging through the cold and hot vegetable section.  And subsequently thought about a few of the recipes all through yoga class.  I know that you are supposed to leave the details of your life at the door in yoga, but I believe focusing on aspects of your life that make you happy are a good thing while twisting in eagle pose.

So after class, I got all the ingredients to do one recipe and came home and made two totally different ones.  The one I bought for will definitely be made this weekend, and it will be making an appearance next week.  It was an intriguing spin on a standard party food...details to follow!

But I was so hungry when I got home, that I whipped up the sesame radishes and a great northern bean dish with mint and parsley.  And they turned out pretty dang good...so that is what we will talk about tonight.  The radishes and cucumbers are on the left and the bean dressing is on the right, which I will also be blogging about soon.

I got the idea to have radishes tonight from the tapas book.  I forgot about how good they are.   My grandma used to eat a radish a day, and she is almost 92 years old...so I think she was on to something.  The salad below is super simple and similar to something I have had at Asian restaurants.  The dressing is light and the veggies crunchy, leaving you feeling refreshed.

Toasted Sesame Radishes

Serves 1-2 appetizer salads

3 radishes, cleaned and thinly sliced with mandoline or knife

1/3rd of cucumber, thinly sliced with mandoline or knife

1 Tbsp sesame seeds

1/2 tsp yellow mustard seeds

2-3 Tbsp white wine vinegar

1 tsp sugar

Red pepper flakes to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp olive oil

Thinly slice the radishes and cucumbers with mandoline or carefully with knife.  Toss into medium sized bowl.  Set aside.  Heat a small saute pan.  Add the sesame and mustard seeds.  Toss frequently until they become fragrant and slightly browned.  Turn off heat and set aside.

Whisk the vinegar, sugar, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.  Slowly add the olive oil and whisk well.  Pour in the sesame and mustard seeds.  Whisk.  Pour over the radishes and cucumbers.  Toss and coat evenly.  Let sit for about 10 minutes.  Toss again.  Serve immediately as a light first course or alongside sushi or appetizers.