My date with daikons

My husband brought home our latest box full of CSA goodies and along with some of the usual suspects – chard, mixed salad greens, broccoli, cabbage – we also received a bunch of what we determined were a new fangled variety of white carrots; something organic, natural and different, we thought. We decided to try these “white carrots” and while Will (smartly) took a danty little sample, I bit in whole heartedly, eagerly anticipating the sweet, crispness of a nice, fresh carrot. To our surprise, these “carrots” had a bitter pepper taste, more common with a radish and after some quick research online, I determined that my “white carrots,” were in fact daikons. One mystery solved, one left…what the heck do you do with a bunch of daikons??

After some additional Web searches I learned that daikons are common in Japanese cooking, particularly as an accompaniment to sushi. Apparently they’re also quite good pickled, and while both options sounded delicious (along with the suggestions I received on Facebook ranging from roasting them with pancetta or simmering in a Miso broth), I was hoping to avoid a run to the store and whip up something quickly with what I had on hand. I decided to get a bit creative with another recipe online for roasting radishes and turnips – and with my fresh bunch of turnips as well, with this recipe, I could kill two birds with one stone.

I peeled and cubed the turnips and radishes and added in some garlic and onion (though in my kitchen, garlic and onion are requirements for virtually all dishes so this should come as no surprise), tossed them in a roasting pan and topped with a mixture of olive oil, soy sauce, honey, mustard, white wine and oodles of fresh and dried herbs. And what a nice surprise this dish yielded! Not only did my house smell heavenly as everything roasted and simmered together, but the final results were a nice mixture of sweet and savory. After roasting for 45 minutes in the oven, the roots were both tender and well seasoned, flavored by the unique mixture.

While I was happy with my results with daikon for the first time, I’m anticipating receiving many more of these “white carrots.” What are some of your favorite methods for preparing daikons?