Somewhere, in my search for low carb goodness, I read a post that said radishes lose their bite when you boil them, and that you could use them in place of potatoes. I am here to tell you that it is true! They have a mouthfeel just like boiled potatoes, and readily take on the taste of the broth or sauce around them. They have a faint earthy taste, but I've had potatoes that had the same flavor. In my opinion, they far exceed turnips, rutabagas, jicama, and cauliflower as a potato stand-in.
To test out the radish theory, I whipped up this chowder for lunch. It's got fantastic flavor, and definitely has the taste and feel of a great comfort food. I bet it would be tasty with cheese on top as well, but I was too lazy (and hungry) to fuss with the grater.
Quick Radish Chowder
1 cup water
8 radishes (more or less to taste), cut into bite-size chunks
½ onion, roughly chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
3 slices bacon
1 teaspoon dashi (Japanese fish stock)
1 bay leaf
3 peppercorns
½ to 1 teaspoon Lawry’s seasoned salt
1 fillet of white fish (I used frozen flounder, partially thawed), chopped into bite size pieces
½ can condensed milk, or about ½ cup cream
Pour clam juice into medium saucepan, and place on burner turned to high heat. Add radishes. Allow radishes to boil until clam juice is reduced by half. Add water, dashi, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Reduce heat to medium. In a separate pan, cook bacon until just starting to crisp. Remove bacon to a paper-towel-covered plate to cool. Add celery and onion to pan full of bacon grease. Sauté until both vegetables are soft and onion is translucent. Scoop mixture into pot. Once radishes are slightly soft when poked, add chopped fish and Lawry’s. When radishes are entirely tender (like cooked potatoes), add milk or cream, stir, and serve.
All of these ingredients and their amounts are quite mutable. In fact, I'm mostly guessing at how much of each went into the chowder--it's very much to taste. Experiment, and enjoy!
