In the kitchen
Radishes are wonderful for a crudité platter, dipped in creamy dressing or spiced salt. They are often served simply with unsalted butter and sea salt flakes. When sliced, they make a good addition to sandwiches of smoked salmon and cream cheese and are pretty when used in salads of leaves or couscous. Radishes often feature in Middle Eastern recipes and go well with oranges and pine nuts. If the leaves are young, green and perky you can eat them too, or use them in soup. Less well known is that the little radishes usually eaten raw can also be steamed, braised or roasted.

Varieties
There are many varieties of small red round and oval radishes, or 'salad radishes', whose colours vary from white and pink to bright fuchsia red.

French Breakfast radishes, so called because of their mild sweet flavour, are elongated with white bases and mottled pink or red top section. The much larger, oriental radishes (of which daikon or mooli is one) are essentially a different vegetable, though related.

Preparation
Radishes should be crisp throughout, with springy bright green leaves. Pick and snip off the trailing portion of the root and trim the leaves and stems as desired. If your radishes are too peppery (quite common in winter) then peel them as most of their kick is in the skin.