grilled radishes with herbed mayo

i think i've mentioned before that my love of food has greatly come from my parents.  they too love to cook, eat, dine out and then talk about it at length.  this generally means that after a holiday, when you ask them how their trip was you get a lot of stories about food.  usually there are one or two inclusions specifically geared towards things that their kids can eat {we're all veg}.  earlier this spring my parents spent some time in new mexico and came home to regale us with tales of their trip.  one of their favourite meals this time was at a small farm to table restaurant & the highlight was a simple but amazing appetizer.  there were raves and there were photos.  and the subject of this fawning?  grilled radishes served with an herbed butter.

yes, you heard me, radishes.  they raved about this appetizer, one you kids could eat. 

so when radishes were abundant in my csa box a couple weeks ago i decided to try grilling radishes myself and i kind of fell in love.  i totally get what all the fuss is about.  since then the radishes have wound down, but that hasn't stopped me and instead i've been throwing baby beets & turnips on the grill in their place.  this really isn't much of a recipe, but here's how it's been going down in case you're keen to try this out too.  i like mine with an herbed mayo, but you could certainly melt up some vegan butter and herb it up.

grilled radishes with herbed mayo
serves 2-3 as a side
1 large bunch of radishes or other small root veggies {beets, turnips, etc}
extra virgin olive oil
coarse sea salt & fresh pepper

for the herbed mayo
1/4 cup veganaise
1 tbsp fresh basil, minced
sea salt & pepper
a little minced garlic optional

remove the greens from your radishes leaving about an inch on them, and set aside for another use {they're great sauteed or even spice up a smoothie!}.  wash them up to remove any dirt and pat dry.  toss in a small dish with a bit of olive oil and set aside while you mix up the mayo.  just combine all the ingredients, season to taste and set it in the fridge until you're ready to eat.  then fire up the bbq & grill the radishes {tip: use a grill basket so you don't lose them all through the grill!} for about 5-7 minutes.  they should be lightly charred.  remove them, sprinkle with some coarse sea salt and a couple good 'ol grinds of the pepper mill & serve with herbed mayo.

you'll see what i'm talking about.

sometimes simple really is best, isn't it?