How to turn radish tops into a delectable soup – recipe

This is an oldie but a goodie, and it’s adapted from a recipe in my first book The Natural Cook, published 10 years ago. It uses the whole radish, including the green leaves, and with zero waste.

Radish leaves are one of my favourite root greens. They’re ever so spiky raw but, once dressed or cooked, they soften and a fresh, cucumbery flavour sings through. They’re delicious in a leafy salad alongside other leaves dressed generously with a mustardy vinaigrette or simply lemon juice and extra-virgin olive oil. They are also delicious gently wilted with extra-virgin olive oil and crushed garlic to serve instead of (or mixed with) other leafy greens such as spinach or kale.

I’ve used brown rice to thicken this soup, rather than my usual go-to potatoes. It gives the soup a nice, light, silky texture.

Radish leaf soup with caraway

This vibrant soup is a light and refreshing dish that uses up the whole radish, but it can also be made with the radish tops alone, if you’ve already eaten the roots. If possible, save a radish or two to grate over the top to finish, both for crunch and to add a vivid spark of red. A blob of butter at the end turns the soup a touch richer and more decadent; cream is good, too. The soup will keep in the fridge for five days, though it will lose some of its vivid green colour.

Serves 4

1 onion, peeled
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1 small courgette
1 stick celery
The green top of 1 leek
1 large sprig mint, leaves picked, stalk reserved
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
¼ tsp caraway seeds
50g brown rice
100g radishes (or extra courgette, roughly chopped), plus 2 radishes extra for grating over to finish
150g radish leaves, and/or watercress
1 knob butter, to finish, or a dash of cream (optional)

Roughly chop the onion, garlic, courgette, celery, leek greens and mint stalk. Put the oil in a saucepan on a medium heat, add all the chopped vegetables and the caraway seeds, and saute, stirring occasionally, for five to 10 minutes, to soften.

Add 700ml water and the brown rice to the pan, bring to a boil, then turn down the heat, cover and leave to simmer for 25 minutes, until the rice is soft. Stir in the radishes, radish tops and mint leaves, return to a boil, then take off the heat.

Blend the soup until smooth, season to taste and serve with optional grated radish and a blob of butter or cream.