A Local Side Dish: RadishMash

Everybody loves mashed potatoes. (Okay, I'm sure there's someone out there who doesn't, just like there are those strange rare souls who don't like chocolate...good, more for me.) But sometimes it's nice to give a little kick to an old favorite...especially if it uses up a uniquely flavored winter root veggie like the radish.

First, the photo essay...then, if you haven't figured it out, I'll tell ya:





******************Deliciously simple. I fished two handfuls of potatoes (mostly little yellow buttery ones, and one red roasting tater) and a small radish out of my sawdust-filled preservation box. After scrubbing them all clean, I chopped them into bite-sized bits and placed them in a cast-iron pot. Next, I fished a large clove of garlic out of my pink brine jar and pressed it through a garlic press into the potatoes. Covered the whole thing in olive oil and sauteed on medium-high heat until the garlic started to stick to the sides a little.

After the initial flavor-imparting saute, I covered the mix in water and boiled it down until it was almost dry again. Then I covered the lot in water (filtered, always filtered, chlorine tastes awful) once more and, about halfway through this reduction, I used a large fork to mash everything together. I waited until all the water had evaporated and gave it a couple more minutes to fry on the heat. Finished by putting it into a bowl and sprinkling a bit of black pepper on top!

It was very tasty, light, and refreshing. Maybe next time I'll go for the heavy, traditional, butter-and-milk mashed potatoes, but this felt very clean and the radishes gave a little kick to the potatoes.