Roasted radishes

When it comes to Valentine, I'm a bit of a grumpy cat. I detest it that the shops hike up prices on anything remotely related to "romance".
M&S has launched its "love sausage". Yep, nothing says romance is not dead, when you serve your beloved a heart-shaped sausage, wrapped in bacon. It's been promoted as an accompaniment to a romantic breakfast in bed. Who eats sausages in bed in the morning? or any other time of the day really? Apart from being a source of unimaginative innuendos, I don't quite see the appeal.

I guess I'm not the target audience for heart-shaped gifts. I did admire the heart-shaped Le Creuset ramekins online, but didn't buy them, as I have one zillion of ramekins as it is, and really cannot justify buying another set.

But all of you, blessed elated lovers, who rejoice at all things Valentine, I salute you, and wish you the most romantic night of the year.

While many lovely couples will indulge in the most exquisite romantic meals, I treated myself to a dinner of cauliflower cheese and roasted radishes. Yes, you read that right, roasted radishes.
My "Valentine" is gallivanting again, so the meal was not meant to be a celebration of any kind.

I first heard of roasted radishes, watching Masterchef.
Raw radishes are a wonderful ingredient, which provide a good crunch for a variation of Ploughman's with a chunky bread, cheese and pickles. Excellent in salads, or thinly sliced over noodle soup, these vegetables can also be cooked.
Roasted radishes lose their bitter spicy edge, and turn quite mellow and juicy.
The first time I cooked them, I was a bit suspicious. but I am a convert now.
When roasted, radishes make a lovely side dish for roast meat, grilled fish or cauliflower cheese.

The recipe itself couldn't be easier, in fact I would not call it a recipe, just a cooking suggestion.

For a bunch of radishes (small kept whole, bigger ones - halved), add 1tbsp of olive oil, 1tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1tsp soy sauce and 1tsp honey.
Roast the radishes at 180C for about 20 minutes.
Serve with whatever main you fancy.

This was my "Valentine's" dinner: cauliflower cheese, radishes and a cheese-filled green chilli.

I used Willy's Apple Cider Vinegar, which was one of the products in the latest Degustabox. It's a tasty vinegar from the Herefordshire countryside.
It adds a lovely sour note to the radishes, and counteracts the mild bitterness of the vegetable.
If you don't have this vinegar, any good apple cider vinegar will work well.

You can also vary the sweet note - if you don't like honey, use pomegranate molasses or maple syrup.

The radishes were pretty pink, so that's my nod to Valentine's day.