You know summer is here when you spy fresh, green-leafed little bouquets of pink radishes at the shops. And you know it’s here to stay when you can dip the crisp, rosy-tinted little bulbs in grassy extra virgin olive oil or sweet balsamic vinegar while sitting outside in the sun.
As summer progresses, radishes can become assertively peppery, but in the early days of sunshine they have a clean-tasting crunch, making them the perfect nibble to whet the appetite for the meal to come. The French like to dip them in unsalted butter and then in sea salt, while the Italians will submerge an entire bunch of baby radishes in a glass bowl of iced water, which shocks them into even more crispness.
Radishes have too long a history to go into here, but they have been much enjoyed in Japan, China, Egypt and Greece. Your best indications of freshness are bright green leaves (toss them into salads, too), and unwithered little roots. If you are not serving them whole as an appetiser, slice them finely and toss with shaved fennel or tomato salads, scatter over cold meats such as prosciutto and Serrano ham, tuck in to summer sandwiches, and serve with Spanish tapas dishes and chilled sherry.
On the menu: Prawn, new potato, green pea and radish salad with rocket and dill, at Restaurant 22, 22 Chesterton Road, Cambridge. Tel: 01223 351880.
In the book: Salad of spring vegetables with San Daniele ham, quail eggs and roasted garlic mayonnaise, from Sally Clarke’s Book, by Sally Clarke, £25, published by Macmillan.