Sunday, June 30, 2013

Roasted potatoes and radishes


Roasted radishes, a very light meal with a lovely colour

Ironically it looks like summer has deserted Switzerland too this year after a semi-shadowed equally non-existent spring. The temperatures during the day are pushing through to 16 degrees Celsius (61F) with the effort of an untrained runner crossing the marathon finish line. People were wearing coats and scarves and one lady even had a coat with fur lining on yesterday. At least she was keeping warm and looked cozy like someone coming in from a chilly night and sitting down on a chair where a cat had been curling up for an hour.

Massive summer BBQ activity is delayed too. The national sausage called Cervelat hit the news again this week. This sausage is a Swiss phenomenon like "Wiener Schnitzel" or "Apfelstrudel" in Austria, "Kartoffelsalat" in Germany or "must leib" (dark rye bread) in Estonia. If something happens to such national food, it is bound to make the news. This time half a page of the morning newspaper was dedicated to the analysis that the Cervelat prices were going up by 10% at all major retailers. The positive side is that due to the delayed grilling season the wallets of the Swiss Cervelat afficionados will retain their weight for a bit longer.

Swiss national sausage, makes the news at least every year

In this cold mood, me wearing a wollen jumper, it seemed rather approapriate to heat up the oven to 200C (400F) and stuff it with some potatoes and fresh radishes.

Instructions:
Potatoes
1. Wash the potatoes and radishes thoroughly.
2. Cut the potatoes into quarters, place them in a baking dish.
3. Sprinkle with sea salt and add a couple of sprigs of fresh rosemary from the herb garden and a generous amount of peeled garlic cloves.
4. Drizzle with oil.
5. Cover with a piece of aluminium foil and cook in the oven for about 40 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake further 15 minutes to give the potatoes a nice crust.

Season the potatoes with herbs, garlic and sea salt
Roasted potato wedges with rosemary and garlic

Radishes
1. Halve the radishes and spread them in a baking dish.
2. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper.
3. Cook for ca. 20 min in the oven.
Radishes need a lot less time in the oven than the potatoes.


Fresh radishes ready to go in the oven
Freshly roasted radishes have a silky taste


I made a cheese-yoghurt topping from grated old Gouda, a couple of tablespoons of Greek yoghurt and a tablespoon of mayonese and had the potatoes as a main course. These can be also served as a side dish to a more meaty main course or to a grilled Cervelat. 

Keeping warm and happy.