Coincidence - just got back from veg patch with handful of radishes. I've never tried eating the leaves before - you have inspired me to.

Does anyone eat radishes with butter?

I have a vague memory of a teenage exchange visit to France when I was a teenager and the grandfather of the family I stayed with eating his raw radishes with some unsalted butter.

I'm sure my son would eat radishes with butter - he'd eat anything as long as it had butter with it, but is this a common habit in France?

this I have GOT to try. We buy every week 2 bunches but I don't use the leaves.... stupid.... BUT now I know what to do with them, thanks!!! Sometimes life can be so simple...and fantastic!

Who knew?! I had no idea that radish leaves were edible. I have been buying radishes by the armful, but it never occurred to me to use the leaves. Thank you!

i have the same immersion blender, mini-chopper set, it's fantastic and i've been using it for years.
radish leaves? looks and sounds delicious. i have to try that.

Hello Clotilde,

Oh this is another genius idea! We'd eat daikon radish tops if they are fresh, but I just never thought about eating those of tiny red/pink radishes... will definitely give it a shot if/when I can get a fresh bunch! Cheers :)

ohhhh! that's what you do with the leaves. now i don't have t return them in a big clump to the greenmarket's composting collection. cannot WAIT to try this recipe.

What a brilliant idea. I love making pestos out of weird greens, so I'll definitely be trying this soon!

Brava for finding food use for an item that is normally discarded. I try to eat all of whatever I purchase. For example, I eat all the entire inside of squashs (seeds, stringy stuff, etc. It just seems logical to eat the seeds which is where the energy for plant growth is stored. Berries' seeds are supposed to be what make the super foods, right? I make soup from kale stems, etc. I figure if it is too chewy, I can just remove the offending item. So far there haven't been any. I encourage others to experiment.) Yes my soups and other foods are more chewy. No I wouldn't recommend using stings and seeds in pumpkin pie or other items where texture is essential. I find the more chewy consistency superior in satisfying my appetite. I also use differnet nuts in pesto, and make mine without oil, to reduce calories and fat. I anticipate seeing more green and healthy more recipies of this type on your blog.

The "pink mice" mention is an adorable association that is stuck in my mind now. Lovely recipe!

I had no idea you could eat radish tops. Thanks for the tip!

I made a clean-out-the-fridge pesto last week with peas, mint, and parsley. It was a huge hit!

This looks fantastic - and I have to add that your poiscamole is now very much a favorite for my husband and I - I am going to try making it with sunflower seed butter next time, just to see how that turns out :)

I love experimenting with different variations of pesto. One of my favorites is this Kale and Pumpkin Seed Pesto but I can't wait to try this one out!

Ah, I just got my CSA box yesterday and was deciding what to do with the easter egg radish tops... I will make radish leaf pesto with almonds! Now any suggestions for the beat tops or the chard?

(I have the same mini-chopper set and I talk it up to EVERYONE. One of the first and most useful kitchen gadgets you can buy.)

You know, Jill - that's funny - my best friend threw me a Parisienne Personal Shower when I was getting married last year, and she decorated the tables with a bowl of salt, laid with a bunch of radishes and a small small ramekin of unsalted butter. I ate a couple buttered radishes for her, which seemed to make her quite pleased. It was actually very good - and I think it was a suggestion in the bistro menu she made. But, like your son, I also enjoy pretty much anything slathered in butter.

I love to do variations on pesto and this one sounds delicious!

*sigh -- thank you so much for posting this! I've got lots-o-radish leaves in the fridge and have been wondering how to avoid wasting them -- this pesto is a perfect solution!

I usually keep the leaves to make soups, but never thought about making pesto with them. Thank you for the idea!

I loooove this idea! I have always thrown away radish leaves. I have never even tasted them, although I do cook and eat beet greens which most people throw away. I am going to try radish leaves soon.

Dory

This sounds much better than the dandelion green pesto I recently made. Too bitter, but healthy. Cilantro pesto is good, though.

Thank you so much for a radish leaf vehicle! I am tempted by the red globes, always appearing before other similarly bright fruits at my market, but feel guilty for wasting or simply composting such vibrant, spicy leaves.

I would also add that, as an alternative to lemon, you can brighten it up with a few leaves of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) and just one of mint, like I did. Lovely - and no need for lemons to travel using fossil fuels to brighten the dish!

This sounds intriguing and the first thing I thought of after reading it, because I pulled weeds last weekend, was dandelion leaf pesto.

I just planted my radish seeds on Sunday so it will be several weeks before I have any greens or radishes to harvest.

I think I'll save this idea for when I do have foliage though. It's a good one!

I've often made pesto from arugula which is equally pungent and peppery but I never thought to use radish greens. Very inspiring!

Thanks so much--we don't eat radishes nearly enough.

Your pesto looks delicious; I simply must make it!

Gnocchi! I've tried it a while ago, but it was terrible, so I hope you will post about your experiment and can give me tips!

Very inventive - must admit I am another of those who doesn't eat the raddish greens but will be trying this out now !

Fab idea! my mum used to make a gorgeous soup with radish leaves, they are very underrated!

Oh Clotilde how could you! What's my poor house rabbit going to have left to eat when you keep coming up with delicious recipes for all the tasty trimmings!

I always use the potato gnocchi recipe from the Italian Cucchiaio d'Argento cookbook - I only have the original Italian version but I'm sure it would be in the English translation (The Silver Spoon - published by Phaidon) or the French (La Cuillère d'argent - published by Relié). They turn out perfectly every time, especially if you make them quite small.

I'd never thought to eat them. I made a stir fry for my guests last night, and radishes had appeared in my CSA box, so I tossed the greens into the the stir fry along with the bok choy. It turned out well.

I think it's fantastic that you used every part of the radish plant. It's a testament to not being wasteful!

Great. The ones I bought from the
farmers market yesterday I just
could not bear to throw out as they
were so fresh. I'll try this for
lunch!!

I really admire your efforts to be more eco-conscious. I am really getting into beet greens. You inspired me when you posted about that a while ago, probably over a year now. I actually had a Ukrainian dish (sorry, the name escapes me) of crispy bread stuffed with sauerkraut and wrapped in beet leaves over the weekend. It was divine, and I never would have thought of it myself.

So your idea of a radish leaf pesto has really given me the extra push I need to start thinking of other ways leaves and greens can be used, and not thrown out.

Great tip! I'm always looking for ways to use ends, trimmings and scraps. I'll be sure to give this pesto a try the next time I buy radishes.

Radish leaves seem to be 'in' at the moment - Nicky of Delicious Days blogged about radish leaf pesto few weeks ago, and now you. I better head to the market :)

Ah, lovely, I've planted way more radish than two people need so it's nice to have a plan to use the whole plant

My mother is German and she ate radishes all the time. They do not seem to be as popular here in the United States. I, however, like them and will try this highly inventive recipe. Thank you.

What a great idea! I've always eaten radishes (the Korean kind) and their leaves as kimchi. It never occured to me to do the same with the little red ones! My mum sometimes uses the radish leaves as substitute for spinach, or cooks them with Korean fermeted soybean paste (sorta like Japanese miso, but much more pungent) in a soup which is also delicious.

Thanks for the French lesson (I didn't know the word fane) and also for the tip! I'm really excited to try this soon.

This sounds great. We grow something here in Canada called Ramps which are wild leeks. I made a pesto last night of ramps, pecans, arugula, olive oil, parmesan, salt and pepper and served it to my kids for lunch today with some angel hair pasta. Delicious! I think I'll give you version a try after I hit the farmer's market tomorrow.

Thank you for posting this! A friend and i tried it last night: my post on the recipe
It was delicious!

Include me amongst those who love radishes but never thought of using the leaves! We add radishes to garden salads whenever possible. I can't wait to try using those leaves now - mmm pesto! Thanks for the idea :)

What a great idea!

I have a gazillion dandelion leaves (I was planning a salad, but they are too tough/mature), do you think they would work in a pesto? I may just have to give it a try..

WOW! Great idea. Wish I knew about this a few days ago. Can't wait to try!

Who would o' thunk! Radish leaves. I'm going to try it.

Who would've thought? Thanks! I LOVE pesto and bitter greens. Great combo!

I tried the radish leaf pesto and it was amazing. I made the pesto with walnuts, lemon mosto olive oil, and a local cow-goat cheddar. The flavors melded perfectly and took the bitterness out of the greens. Thanks!

I wish our radishes came with the greens still attached but unfortunately they come in sad little plastic bags, no leaves.

I have used successfully used mustard greens and turnip greens in addition to radish and arugula to make pesto and pesto-like sauces. Very yummy and easy way to use up an abundance of spicy greens! Especially good with sunflower seeds in place of nuts!

Inspired by you, I saved the good leaves of the bunch of radishes I gathered in our garden this morning. I simply puréed them with a bit of olive oil, nothing else, in the minichooper and served it as a green sauce with grilled sausages for lunch. Excellent.

I am getting off my couch, heading to the farmer's market this very minute! I cannot wait to try this--especially with prosciutto. I never would have given radish leaves a second thought.
Lorrie

Oh what a wonderful thing to do. My four little radishes are going to hate me this year!

Gosh how wonderful! I bought some radishes at the San Francisco farmers mkt last weekend. Actually just about to past some images of them. And I am so going to make this. LLGxx

we eat raddish leaves in Japan as well, my favorite is miso soup with the raddish leaves. Also those leaves are richer in acidfolic than the raddish itself;)

I'll try dandelion/pistachio this weekend. The one thing i forgot to mention with dandelion pesto is the leaves i am using are pretty big/tough (hence the bitterness) which makes it really hard on the food processor i'm using -- used something like 2c of olive oil to get it to work. pre-chopping would help.

This looks delicious, and i love pesto, so I can't wait to try this. I love experimenting with my pestos. I found another great take on pesto made with spinach leaves rather than basil.
All great ideas, thanks!

I'm so glad you posted this -- I've been trying to figure out if radish leaves are edible. Mostly by biting into them now and then, but honestly, they hadn't inspired me. I think this pesto will be just about perfect for using them up, especially with the creaminess added by the nuts and the liveliness imbued by lemon zest.

I know radishes are nutritional powerhouses -- any idea what we get from the leaves?

I've been eating radishes on crostini with avocado and smoked salt for years -- even posted about it about a year ago. I thought I'd invented it. :)

Clotilde,

I've been following your blog for years, and I recently saw you on tv with Josée Di Stasio. Such fun!

I grew radishes in my garden this year and when I saw your pesto recipe I just had to try it.

It was "fane"-tastic! Thanks!

This is convenient, as my radishes usually come up all tops :-)

As far as eating radishes, I grew up (in Ohio) eating radish sandwiches: bread slathered with butter (well, margarine) with radishes and salt in between. Hmmm... that sounds awfully good right now.

I had never heard of anything like this before. It's great to see an ingredient that most people would probably just toss out made into something really delicious.

This was good! I used a splash of vinegar since I'm out of lemons. Still tasted great. Thanks!

Pistachios make a huge difference in cutting the dandelion bitterness. Thanks for the tip.

Looking forward to trying this one out, I'd never thought to use the greens for pesto although I love them in salads and cooked. In fact when I've got them in my garden I like to raid the leaves bit by bit before I pick the radish, they're pretty forgiving in that way.
The other radish thing I really like is making radish tzatziki, particularly with the round ones because it makes a lovely, spicy dip and goes really well with roast lamb.

I tried it this weekend. I made slightly different proportions and with fresh garlic (yum!). I loved it! It's my new favorite, and my family's, too. I'll make it as long as we get good vibrant greens. So tasty.

To the commentor who asked about radishes and salt and butter...OUI! This comes to me from a friend whose aunt lived in France and gave her this treat. I have made wonderful appetizers based on this: a slice of toasted bread, sweet butter, slices of radish, sea salt, cut to "appetizer" size. So good with champagne or white wine. I understand that in France currently, some bars serve big bowls of radishes with the drinks! Salud!

Thank you for this! We eat a lot of radishes, and I'm so glad to have something to do with the leaves. I appreciate that the leaves are moister, I think, than basil, so this seems to need a lot less oil than I usually add to a basil pesto. Of course this isn't quite as heady as the basil pesto, but it's a treat nevertheless!

Perfect timing with this recipe, Clotilde. We just received several bunches of gorgeous radishes in our farm-share box, and now I know just what to do with the leaves. Thank you!

I planted daikon because they're fairly resistant to slugs. This morning, I picked about two cups of the biggest leaves, a catnip tip, and one cup of sage leaves. Without stemming them, I blended them with a small handful of pine nuts, a vigorous shake of olive oil, a garlic clove, and a wedge from a navel orange. We had that for lunch on rye crackers.

just made a batch and mixed it with soba noodles, tomatoes, cucumbers & swidd chard. all ingredients from the farmer's market, except the noodles! ^_^ love the 'no waste' recipes!! thanks!!

Tried this and found it a little more bitter than I'd like. I ended up having to mix the pesto with cream cheese to make it palatable. I used pine nuts instead of pistachios -- perhaps that was the difference? I did notice that the radish greens seemed rough and prickly (they were organic -- not sure what difference that makes). I'll look for a bunch with softer, smaller leaves next time.

YUM! My radishes have been growing out of control (lots of rain!), so many of the leaves were too prickly to use. But I used what I could (stems were great!), added the tops of turnips that came in my CSA box, garlic scapes, a few lemon balm leaves, and a lot of pistachios (and olive oil, of course). In a very unusual turn of events for me, I even skipped the cheese! The garlic scapes were quite pungent, so I snipped some curly parsley and added that in, too.

On rye crackers, on rice crackers, on slices of sweet turnips, on fresh mozzarella... Oh the places you will go.

Great idea in the name of frugality, i really enjoyed making & eating this! I am going to be controversial and say that i made it with walnuts to what i think was great success. I did also add the juice and zest of a medium sized lemon and a heaped teaspoon of sugar. I ate it on sliced walnut rye bread & the nutty bread and sharp pesto complimented each other really well.
Congrats on a lovely blog that has become a daily read for me!

Didn't read the comments, and just made my pesto with prickly radish leaves and pine nuts. The little taste I had was not good, so bitter and felt like it was pricking my tongue. Any suggestions to cut the bitterness? I don't want to have to throw it away.

I fixed my bitter pesto! In case anyone else has a problem with it coming out too bitter, here's what I did. Since I used pine nuts in the original batch, I ground up some pistachios with zest of a whole lemon and a tsp of sugar in the food processor, then mixed that into my bitter pesto. Took the bitterness right out. Just to be safe, I heated it up with a bit of half and half before dressing the pasta to smooth out the flavor even more. Mixed in some homemade sundried tomatoes as well. Delicious.