Radishes are among the first crunchy gems to pop up in gardens in spring. Not many people know that you can also eat the leaves. Like spinach, you can boil them or enjoy them raw. Radish leaves make divine soups or pestos. They are also a great addition to salads. Back in the 90s in his best-selling cook book “Nose to Tail”, top British chef Fergus Henderson wrote that you can mix radish greens with a vinaigrette . Simple! In Japan the leaves of the daikon radish, a large distant relative of the radish found in Europe, are a traditional cooking ingredient. The Japanese like to use them to make pickles and other tasty treats.
Quick storage tip: remove the greens from the radishes before putting them in the fridge. The reason: water evaporates via the leaves, so removing them will keep the bulb fresh for longer. It’s best to eat the greens as soon as you can!