Fire It Up - Andrew Schloss [149]
RADISHES
Grilled Sweet and Sour Asian Radishes
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
Asian radishes are sweetest in winter, when they store up sugar for survival, which makes them a great winter grilling dish. Look for jade green Korean radishes (called mu). The green fades to white at the tips. They have a short, squat shape that slices into large disks, perfect for showing off a wide expanse of grill marks. Korean radishes are thick-skinned, so they generally need to be peeled (unless very young). You can also use slender white Japanese daikon, which are easier to come by but less sweet. You could even try the familiar red or pink European radishes, but they are generally smaller and won’t yield as much surface area for grilling.
INGREDIENTS:
1 minced garlic clove
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
¾ cup store-bought sweet and sour sauce
1 pound large green Korean radishes (mu) or white Japanese radishes (daikon)
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 scallion (green and white parts), chopped
DIRECTIONS:
Light a grill for direct medium-high heat, about 425°F.
Add the garlic and ginger to the sweet and sour sauce. Warm gently. If using small radishes, preheat a grill-wok or perforated grill pan on the grill.
Scrub the radishes and peel if thick-skinned. Cut on a sharp diagonal into oval slices about ¼ inch thick. Toss in a medium bowl with the canola oil and sesame oil. Brush the grill grate and coat with oil. If using a grill-wok, coat the hot grill-wok generously with oil. Grill the radishes directly over the heat (in the grill-wok, if using) until nicely grill-marked, about 2 minutes per side.
Remove and cut into bite-size pieces. Toss with the sweet and sour sauce. Drizzle with any oil left in the bowl. Scatter the scallion on top.
POTATOES
Grilled Potato Cakes
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
Briefly cooking and then chilling potatoes softens and gelatinizes some of the starch, so that when shredded, the shreds cling to each other and easily form into cakes. It’s easiest to chill the potatoes the night before, but you could chill them in the morning if you plan to cook them that night. The addition of potato flakes helps to bind the mixture and adds more potato flavor. If you like, add some chopped fresh parsley, dill, or rosemary to the cakes along with the salt and pepper. Serve with applesauce or sour cream, or as a side dish for beef, veal, or poultry.
INGREDIENTS:
2 pounds russet potatoes, skins left on
1 large onion
1 cup potato flakes
2 large eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1½ teaspoons sea salt
¾ teaspoon ground black pepper
Cooking spray
DIRECTIONS:
Put the potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with salted water by about 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat and continue boiling until the potatoes begin to soften (just under the skin), 7 to 10 minutes. Drain the potatoes, cover, and refrigerate for 8 to 16 hours.
Peel the potatoes and onion and grate them both, using the large holes of a box grater or the grating disk of a food processor. Transfer to cheesecloth and wring out as much liquid as possible over a bowl (there may only be a few tablespoons). Let the liquid stand for 5 minutes so that the potato starch settles to the bottom. Carefully pour off the water, leaving the starch in the bottom of the bowl. Add the potatoes and onions, ⅓ cup of the potato flakes, the parsley, eggs, salt, and pepper. Mix thoroughly.
Put the remaining ⅔ cup potato flakes in a shallow bowl. Form the potato mixture into 8 patties no more than ¼ inch thick and dredge in the potato flakes. Let the cakes stand at room temperature as the grill heats up.
Light a grill