Radish Sandwiches With Butter and Salt

Yes! My European parents always had cleaned radishes floating in water in a jar in the refridgerator, and dense German bread. We put the salt on the radishes, not on the butter - when the radishes sweat, they lose a little of their sharp edge. And only a thin layer of room temperature (spreadable) butter, MUCH less than 12 Tablespoons!

Try mixing a couple mashed anchovies into the butter, instead of salt. Sounds odd, but I'm telling you - if you've never had radishes and anchovy butter together, you are missing out! No fishy taste - just wonderful umami that is a beautiful contrast to the radish. I also like to toast baguette rounds to make crostini, rather than soft bread. The fresher the radish, the better. Sprinkle chives on top you have a beautiful and delicious hor d'oevre that others will swoon over.

We use a truffle shaver to get wafer-thin radishes and make these open faced. Crack open a tin of sustainably harvested sardines in olive oil to top and it's a fav picnic meal. There might also be a couple of mason jars of rose in the mix too :) Nom nom nom

I prefer it on a dark bread like pumpernickel or some other kind of German breads that you can get in packages. The slices are really thin and they are excellent with the fresh, spring radishes. Have been eating those my whole life.

Very good as written. For my Italian hubby who never has learned to enjoy butter as bread spread, we also like this with an Israeli version twist. That is substitute labneh (spreadable consistency yogurt cheese) for the butter. Then sprinkle with a little sumac and flake salt, add the radishes. Flat leaf parsley instead of arugula and chives for herbs. Another riff on this very good starting recipe. Both are great for appetizers or even for breakfast on the run.

Use small radish leaves instead of arugula.

Large Dicon radish is much better IMHO. No heat. Large slices, perfect for a sandwich.

Yeah, dikon radishes are the best, here and elsewhere. I love these sandwiches and also cucumber sandwiches, tomato sandwiches. A little thinly slice cuke with the daikon works with this recipe (tomatoes not so much). Cucumber sandwiches with cream cheese instead of butter are really good. I add dill.

If you happen to live near a Trader Joe's, try this with their Brittany cultured butter, which is salted. I grew up in France on a dairy farm and radishes dipped in salt were a common beginner, accompanied with bread slathered with salted butter. In my region (Charente Poitou), renown for its butter, we use salted butter for everything. You still dip the edge of the ideally freshly picked radishes in a little mound of fine sea salt on your plate before biting into the bread. Miam miam.

No! Butter is the essence of this. The radishes DO mind.

This is a great little super easy appetizer. I didn't like the idea of the butter and Amber from NYT customer service suggested cream cheese. I did a reduced calorie vegetable cream cheese on a a good ciabatta bread. Used spinach instead of arugula. Topped with a really good sea salt. Served with olives and marinated mushrooms. It's nice cause it wasn't a heavy super filling appetizer. Nothing was leftover and I was hoping for some for lunch today.

Oh my goodness! I almost dropped my iPad when I saw this! Who knew this was a "recipe"? I fist heard of radish sandwiches about 50 yrs ago when I married my first husband. I have no idea where is came from - think I assumed it might have come from ex-FIL's German grandmother. I've never met anyone else who ate them. We always folded the single piece of bread over for easier eating. Quite delicious for lunch on a hot summer day in Charlevoix MI.

My father used to use sliced black radishes with schmaltz on rye. It was delicious. I also recall that he used to slice the radishes and keep them in a jar of salted water.

In Paris a friend thinly sliced those French breakfast radishes you find here in farmer's markets, buttered them lightly ( with softened Brittany butter) and sprinkled grey salt on top. Been eating them that way ever since. I like the idea of using the dark bread, if using any bread.

I can't imagine using oil or cream cheese instead of butter here. It's all about the butter. The fresh baguette version is nice, but so is a toasted country bread or dark bread. I caught on to doing it toasted because that's how they did it at the Vanderbilt, and some may disagree, but I thought it was equally good as not toasted.