CSA zero: a radish recipe, spring onion oil noodles

My CSA offers an herb share, and I’m not sure what those people are doing with themselves right now. Our front window is currently a small scale herb drying operation, with dozens of small bundles of tarragon and winter savory pushing the curtains back. At least I know what to do with them now: this is definitely going to be Hanukkah gifts for at least a few people. It looks really nice, and it makes me feel like I am a totally different sort of person than I am, although I suppose for this brief period I am this sort of person. Usually CSAs make me into the sort of person who makes pesto constantly, but I’m hoping not to get there this year.

I’m going to share a recipe that I haven’t tried yet, but want to. Noah has a strong dislike for cold noodles, which is a shame, because I am a huge fan of cold noodles. This recipe seems totally unappealing to him, and wildly attractive to me. Bibim guksu, spicy cold noodles. It uses lettuce! Give it a try and tell me how it is. There are dozens of very different recipes for this online, Maangchi has one that is much more kimchi based, which, while probably good, doesn’t help those of us who are currently living with a lot of lettuce. It is a bit spicy and quite red.

• Radishes, butter roasted with winter savory

• Winter savory

• Lettuce (wow! lettuce!)

• Shelling peas

  • I made this salad from smitten kitchen. I’m shocked to say this, because I never feel this way but… it might have had too much vinegar, a bit less would have been okay I think. Otherwise it was great. Eat it the day you make it, because the peas will be an unappealing color the next day. It still tastes fine, but you look at it and think “should I be eating this?”

• Spring onions — Spring onion oil noodles, recipe follows

Butter roasted Radishes

Preheat oven to 425. Remove radish greens, then wash radishes. Trim the tips. Slice in half.

Chop a few cloves of garlic, and some winter savory (it basically tastes like italian seasoning?) Put face down on a sheet pan. Smear with butter (if you don’t have room temperature butter you could probably chop a tablespoon and scatter it) sprinkle with the garlic and herb, plus salt. Roast for 15-20 minutes.

This feels like a really un-seasonal way to eat radishes (butter roasting something? that’s for when it’s cold!) but they turn out very delicious, really melt in your mouth. Much more appealing, to me, than raw salad radishes.

Spring onion oil

Slice spring onions, and whatever of their greens haven’t gotten all slimy, add to a pot with enough peanut oil to cover them (as always, I really recommend against canola oil). Cook on medium low until browned and crispy. This will take a while. Don’t turn up the heat too high, you want them to dry out while cooking, so it does just take a long time. When they are all brown, pour them into a strainer, and jar the oil. Spread the onions on a paper towel and set aside. The oil lasts in the refrigerator basically indefinitely, just label the jar. It’s really good in these noodles, and other Chinese noodle dishes, as well as a cucumber salad, stuff like that. Also good for frying potatoes! Or browning tofu!

Spring onion oil noodles

These are like scallion oil noodles except they use spring onions from your CSA. There are a billion different versions of this dish, I’ve made the one from the woks of life, this one from Chez Jorge, and the one from All Under Heaven. They mainly differ in how much dark soy sauce they use. All Under Heaven’s is much lighter, if I remember correctly, but I’m not pulling that book out right now. Scallion oil noodles are quite dark and salty, I have made them a bit lighter, and serve them with a totally unseasoned fried tofu, which sounds gross, but helps balance everything.

Spring onion oil noodles

• 1 tbs dark soy sauce

• 2 tbs light soy sauce

• 1 generous tbs sugar

• 3 tbs onion oil, plus some for frying

• 1 tbs noodle cooking water

• 1 block tofu

• White pepper

Slice tofu and lay on a towel. Heat a frying pan over medium high, once the pan is quite hot, add some onion oil. Add tofu to the pan. Fry until the bottoms release, flip, fry again. Give a good sprinkle of white pepper, and set aside.

While the tofu is frying (eg, once you’re on the second round start the noodles) prepare the noodles/

Mix the sauce, except for the noodle water.

Cook the noodles. I use shandong style dried white noodles, I think they’re wider than is traditional, but they sell them at the store by me and I like them. When noodles are just about done, scoop out a bit of water, and drain the noodles.

Cook sauce in the noodle pan adding the water, add the noodles and cook for about a minute. Splorp into a bowl and top with the fried spring onions/scallions/whatever from earlier. Eat with tofu.