{clean eating} Black Radish Salad with Kale, Tokoyo Turnips, Almonds and Parmesan Cheese (2024)

This past weekend Greta, András and I were in Virginia andNorth Carolina, and we were bad—really bad. I’m talking buttery grits, sweettea, biscuits and Nutter-Butters bad. So this week I’ve been craving nothingbut kale salads and beet juice, the kind of cleansing food that gets me back ontrack, mentally and physically, from my sugar-induced slump. But then, there’sthis cold that’s creeping in. And hot chocolate calls.

Sigh.

It’s nothing a good trip to the farmer’s market can’t fix.Here’s how it went. Greta and I set out for our weekly Wednesday trip to ourteeny market, just two strides out my front door— our neighborhood’s greatestgift. I had two facts in my head as we went: First, the market is just week’saway from its winter hiatus, which starts after Thanksgiving, a deadline I don’ttake lightly. And second, today we had just $20 cash, half our usual market stipendthat has us in a week’s worth of fresh fruits and vegetables, a jug of ciderand one cider donut apiece. What can you buy with $20 at the market? Amazing,intriguing vegetables—always cheaper than fruits—bunches of greens and pilesupon piles of roots. Beets. Potatoes. Black Radish. Kale. Broccoli. Tokyo Turnips.

I saw a salad coming on.

Last week at an incredible dinner at Il Buco, I had aGrilled Filet of Spanish Mackerel with filet beans and raw Tokyo Turnips, abracing, surprising success that I haven’t stopped thinking about since. The turnips were calling my name, as were the black radishes whose brooding, elephantineskin conceals their gleaming white core.

I had a vision of a clean salad forming, full of crisp, fallflavors, knobby bits of aged crystalline Parmesan cheese,and roasted almonds. All crunch, substance, flavor. Back home, as I worked myway around the roots with my camera, I got hungrier, so I threw a few potatoesand some garlic in the oven to roast. And the smell.... well, you know thesmell of roasted garlic and potatoes.

What’s left, after my split personalities went theirseparate ways, is two different but equally delicious salads: one pure and raw,the essence of every vegetable, the other, warm and raw melting together, thegive of roasted potato between every bite of earthy kale and crisp radish. Bothalive. Both the kind of salad you might enjoy, say, as a lunch or a firstcourse, of if you’re still in the mood for being bad, as an easy meal eaten alongside a few fine slices of charcuterie with a glass of Chimay. So much for clean. Eitherway, lean or lux, both are at home on any table—carnivore or vegetarian. Takeyour pick:

~

Black Radish Salad with Broccoli, Tokyo Turnips, Kale,Almonds and Parmesan Cheese

Serves 2 to 4

3 tablespoons high quality extra virgin olive oil

Juice of ½ lemon

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 small head fresh broccoli, florets and stems, thinlysliced lengthwise

1 large black radish, thinly sliced or cut in bite-sizedpieces

2 small Tokyo Turnips, thinly sliced

4 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, broken in bits

1/3 cup roasted, unsalted almonds, roughly chopped

Fleur de sel or sel gris, for garnish

Toss the kaletogether with the olive oil and lemon juice in a large bowl. Season with saltand pepper. Massage the kale, squeezing and rubbing the leaves together withyour hands, working the oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper into the leaves toflavor and tenderize them. Toss together with the broccoli, turnips, parm, andalmonds. Divide between plates. Garnish with fleur de sel and more groundpepper; serve at room temperature.

~

Black Radish Salad with Tokyo Turnips, Roasted Potatoes, Apples,and Manchego

Serves 2 to 4

1 handful fingerling or banana potatoes, halved lengthwise
4 cloves garlic, in their skin, smashed

5 tablespoons high quality extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Juice of ½ lemon

1 small crisp, tart apple, thinly sliced

1 large black radish, thinly sliced or cut in bite-sizedpieces

2 small Tokyo Turnips, thinly sliced

1/3 cup roasted, unsalted almonds, roughly chopped

2 ounces Manchego cheese, thinly sliced

Fleur de sel or sel gris, for garnish

Preheat the ovento 400 degrees F.

Toss the potatoes, garlic, 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper together until coated and spread onto abaking sheet in a single layer. Roast until soft with golden brown edges, about30 minutes.

Toss the kaletogether with the remaining olive oil and lemon juice in a large bowl. Seasonwith salt and pepper. Massage the kale, squeezing and rubbing the leavestogether with your hands, working the oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper intothe leaves to flavor and tenderize them. Toss together the roasted potatoes,turnips, apples, and almonds. Divide between plates. Scatter the cheese overthe top. Garnish with fleur de sel and more ground pepper; serve at roomtemperature.