Quick-Pickled Sweet ‘N’ Spicy Radish Pods

Used by permission from The No-Waste Vegetable Cookbook : Recipes and Techniques for Whole Plant Cooking  by Linda Ly from Harvard Common Press.

Unless you grow your own radish plants at home, you’ve likely never seen the long, thin seed pods that emerge once they start flowering. All radish plants produce seed pods that are edible; you may have even come across a patch of wild radishes on a hike and not realized what the pointy-tailed pods were. They appear en masse (a single plant is quite prolific, producing dozens of pods on its flower stalk) at the end of the life cycle, long after the radish root has turned woody and inedible. But even though you can’t harvest the radish, consider the seed pods a bonus harvest—a final hurrah—before you pull the plant up.

Pick them while they’re green and fresh (because in a few weeks, they’ll dry out and turn into actual seeds). The crunchy, peppery pods taste like a concentrated radish and can be easily snack ed on by the handful.

Though I like them when they’re raw, I love them even more when they’re pickled. The sweet and tangy brine mellows out their spice somewhat and turns the radish pods into a zesty topping for sandwiches, tacos, Pea Shoot Salad with Radish and Carrot, Bottom-of- the-Box Bibimbap, or even a Bloody Mary.

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the water, rice vinegar, wine vinegar, sugar, and salt and stir until the grains are dissolved. Let the brine cool to room temperature.

   Pack the radish pods into jars and pour the brine over them, making sure the pods are fully submerged. Pickle at room temperature, out of direct sunlight, for at least 4 hours before serving. For best flavor, pickle overnight in the fridge.