Daikon Ginger Pickle

From Sarah Voiland, 2013

This is a lactofermented recipe, so once you have made it, it will last a long time in your refrigerator as a topper to salads or condiment for sandwiches etc.

1 big daikon radish or enough to mostly fill a quart jar
1 inch of ginger
2 tbs salt (without iodine or additives)
1 quart water

Wash and then peel any tougher skin at the top of the daikon. Slice daikon thin, easy with a Cuisinart slicing tool. Slice up an inch of ginger, skin on is fine. Mix 2 tbs salt with 1 quart water. Fill a quart glass jar up with the diakon and ginger, pour the salt water over it to cover. Stick a glass of water (or something) on top to hold the daikon down under the level of the salt water. Cover with a cloth to keep dust out. Leave it on your counter for a few days, tasting as you go until you like it, then refrigerate.

Roasted Winter Roots

From Sarah Voiland, 2010

When I was in college, I had what someone called a “root bake” for the first time, and it was so good!

The general idea is chop up all kinds of roots into similar sized chunks, coat/toss with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake in the oven at about 400 until all items are soft to the tines of a fork. Stir after about a half hour. Herbs generally do better added part way in to cooking. To steam faster, cover fully with tin foil for a half hour, then remove the foil to allow browning.

Things you can include:
Parsnips, Rutabagas, Beets, Turnips, Daikon, Sweet Potatoes, Potatoes, Onions, Garlic, Carrots, Herbs, Celeriac, Kohlrabi, and anything else I’m forgetting.

Variations could include adding any of the following: soy sauce, sesame oil and sesame seeds, honey mustard, hot pepper flakes, making a cilantro or tahini dressing to pour over them, serving with ketchup or hot sauce with mayo, and who knows what else.

Daikon-Apple Salad

From Sarah Voiland, 2009

1/3 volume grated daikon
remaining 2/3 volume grated apples
sprinkling of olive oil
salt to taste
raisins (optional)

Grate the daikon and cored apples (a food processor makes this easy!).
Mix together in a bowl with a sprinkling of olive oil and a dash of salt.
Adjust towards more daikon or more apple if you want more bite or sweet respectively.
You could add a little lemon juice as well, though when I made it the apples didn’t discolor when mixed with daikon for whatever reason.

Daikon and Carrot Salad

2 cups shredded or finely chopped daikon radish
1 cup shredded carrots
1 t. sesame oil
1 T rice vinegar
½ t. sugar
1 t. minced ginger (optional)

Toss together and serve!

Hearty Asian Noodle Salad

From Jarrett Mann, 2006

1 cabbage, small or medium, shredded or chopped medium fine
2 lb. Grated carrot
1 or 2 grated turnips or daikon
A full bulb garlic, minced or pressed
a large finger sized chunk of ginger, finely grated or minced
4 Tbsp. Sesame oil
3 Tbsp. Rice Vinegar
¼ cup raw or toasted sesame seeds
3-5 cups cooked pasta
2/3 cup soy sauce

The best part about this recipe is that it can be assembled in any order. It requires kind of a large bowl, of course you could always half the recipe (or double it!). The roots do not need to be peeled, only washed.

Cook the pasta until al dente, then strain and rinse thoroughly with cold water before adding to the bowl. The pasta can be of any variety, I have used spaghetti and ziti before: if you use spaghetti cut it up a bit first, so the strands are not so long. I think ginger is best grated through the small side of a cheese grater.

Everything else gets added whenever you want, toss thoroughly and serve chilled or room temp. For added flair, either serve on top of a bed of spinach or mix spinach right in. Try serving it at Thanksgiving, everyone seems to like it.

Indian-Style Stir Fry

From Jarrett Mann, 2006

2 lb. or so potatoes (about 6 medium sized ones) 
1 cup chopped red onion
1 large or 2 medium daikon, chopped into whatever size
1 head cauliflower, chopped into bite size
3 large or 5 medium carrots, cut into slices or sticks, or whatever
3 Tbsp. Cooking oil, like canola, vegetable, peanut, or anything really other than olive oil
1 Tbsp. Sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 Tbsp. Turmeric
1 Tbsp. Curry powder or garam masala or channa masala (available at any Indian grocer)
1-3 tsp. Salt, to taste
4-6 cups White or brown rice, cooked by regular means
*specialty spices, not required

*The traditional way to cook this is with black mustard seed, dhal (lentils are close enough), curry leaf (this is not where curry powder comes from), and a touch of chili, dried chili flakes are fine. Each of these just needs a pinch, so have any/all of them on hand if you want.

Serves 4. Start off by cooking potatoes. Chop into 1 inch cubes or so, skins are OK but not required. Boil in plenty of water for 40 minutes. I know this seems long, they should come out very well cooked. Once that is going, make the rice. When the rice is finished, remove from heat but keep a lid on to keep it warm.

When the potatoes are 10-15 minutes from finished, start heating a skillet, wok, or pan with the cooking oil and sesame oil on high heat. This is the tricky part, where you add traditional spices. If you want, just skip to the part of adding the garlic. Otherwise, let the oil heat for a minute. Add a large pinch of lentils and then mustard seed. Keep the heat on high, when the mustard seed starts to pop, add the curry leaves and chili flakes. Stir continuously. After 30 seconds, add the garlic. It should sizzle rapidly.

When the garlic first starts to brown, add the onions and sauté them for a few minutes. When the onions are becoming translucent, add the cauliflower and daikon. Stir fry now for about 4 minutes before adding the carrots and continue to stir fry, stirring every minute or so for another 5 minutes. If things start to burn add a bit more oil, or turn down the heat, or both.

When the vegetables are mostly cooked, turn the heat to very low. Now strain the potatoes, and add them to the stir fry. Add also the turmeric, salt and other spices desired. Toss well over the low heat, and check for the salt level you want. The potatoes fall apart somewhat, and give it an almost saucy feel, add a little water if you want. Viola! Serve with rice.