raccolto / harvest

baby white icicle radishes as diamonds in the rough

Last year, a friend of mine gave me a packet of seeds (semi) written in Russian. From the picture and my very limited knowledge of the Cyrillic alphabet, I gathered that the seeds were for white icicle radish (ravanello candela di ghiaccio). I sowed a few and they all sprouted quickly. I thinned the seedlings, adding the harvested leaves to salads. But I didn't choose the right time to pull out the mature radishes, so the harvest was so-so.

The expert gardener who helps me keep my little jungle under control sowed the rest of the seeds and once again sprouting occurred quickly. This time, I did less thinning and decided to let the radishes get just to a baby size and then harvest them. The photo above (taken with my phone) shows my first batch: don't they look cute?

baby white icicle radishes (Rafanus sativus)

I cut off the top and used it with other greens to make this dish. I then scrubbed the radishes to show them off to the camera. I am not an expert on this root vegetable, so I am not sure how the white icicle radishes' flavor compares to that of other varieties. They are quite peppery (piccanti) and I have read them described as "more hot than mild." I am planning to add them to a root roast.

Black and White Wednesday is on hold while Susan takes some time off to focus on her health. Following on the footsteps of Brii and Haalo, I am publishing a black and white photo post on Wednesday as a special well-wishing card for Susan.

The photos wer shot in color and then converted the top one to sepia and the bottom one to black and white.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

raccolto

 or launch the raccolto audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

Comments

[Molly Hashimoto]

Stunning photos! We love growing a tomato up north in Seattle, Stupice, like the iceberg radishes, born in Eastern Europe/Russia. Good choice for our climate--some of those heirlooms were kept alive by home gardeners.

[Simona Carini]

Thank you, Molly. I will look for the tomato you mention. I tried one year to grow cherry tomatoes that were supposed to do well in the cool, foggy climate that we have. The plants did very well, but I got no tomatoes: I guess it was a pollination issue. I'd love to find a tomato variety that I can grow.