We renewed our CSA recently, after an unintentionally long break. Our CSA is from Full Belly Farm out in Guinda, California. I love getting a CSA box: It keeps me from buying and eating the same vegetables every week, and it forces me to be more creative in the kitchen. Not to mention I like taking at least some of my grocery shopping out of the industrial food chain and giving money to people who are committed to building and nurturing their land and all that other Wendell Berry-esque stuff.
Of course, sometimes having a CSA means I get vegetables I’m not that excited about. I mean, I try to be excited about all the vegetables. It seems only fair. But the fact of the matter is that when it’s time to pick up a new box, there are inevitably some stragglers hanging out from last week. In my case, the radishes will almost always be the stragglers. I have a hard time with radishes. Their bracing astringency is just a little too in-your-face for me. They taste like burning (high five if you remember that classic line).
Yes, these sad little wilted radishes sat in our crisper for well over a week, waiting to find their purpose in life. I had a few ideas: I pondered pickling them (that seemed like a lot of work), and several times I figured I might try the classic French trick of eating them fresh and raw with some sweet cream butter, salt, and a baguette. The longer they sat, though, the less likely it became that I wanted to have anything to do with them in their raw state. I tried to forget they were there. Then I felt guilty.
Finally, last night I decided it was time for the radishes. If I waited even one more day they would probably only be fit for the trash so out they came. It was time for one of my favorite week night dinners: a big pot of rice salad with lots of vegetables, herbs, and nuts.
The radishes were sliced into narrow, tiny rounds. They were joined in the pot by some beautiful purple and green spring onions, and some sliced up carrots. They cooked for an hour with shiny black wild rice, and once that was done, the whole pot was brightened up with a cup full of fragrant herbs.
Easy. I chose to make this a little heartier by cooking up a few chicken pieces I had in the freezer, but you could add some beans or tofu, too. The best thing about a dinner like this is that you can use whatever you have on hand and it will almost definitely turn out well. What really makes this special are all the herbs. I used a mixture of basil, cilantro, and green onions. The herbs bring the whole dish together. Without them, it’s kind of just rice.
Herb and Wild Rice Salad
- 1-2 teaspoons olive oil
- about 1/2 cup sliced radishes
- about 1/2 cup sliced spring onions
- about 1/2 cup sliced carrots
- 1/2 cup of wild rice
- 1 1/4 cups water or broth
- 1 cup of chopped herbs (any combination you like: I used basil, cilantro, and green onions
- a splash of sesame oil
- a splash of rice wine vingear
- 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
- about 1/2 cup chopped chicken (or beans or tofu)
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the radishes, onions, and carrots. Let the vegetables cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Then stir in the rice, and a pinch of salt. Add the water and cover the saucepan. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and let simmer for about an hour, or until the rice is cooked through.
When the rice is done, give it a taste. Stir in the sesame oil and rice wine vinegar to taste, then stir in the herbs, pecans, and the chicken (or beans or tofu). Give it a taste and adjust your seasonings, then serve.
