If you know me, you know that I love my vegetables. Vegetables can be transformative to our daily health from a nutrition standpoint, but what about from a creativity standpoint? There is nothing I love more than to look at a veggie and imagine a new way to enjoy it. Veggies provide a colorful baseline for food art, plain and simple. There are so many shows on tv, and online, making food art out of giant sandwiches and 99 ingredient recipes - all of which usually contain cream or a can of something. I don’t mean to throw shade on popularized cooking, but I have to wonder sometimes - is it really cooking to eat and feel well? It’s become entertainment and people are far removed from their kitchens and real food as a source. Vegetables are often masked with gobs of oozy cheese or shown only in salads, raw and as the dippers no one wants to use with their hummus. Vegetables are elegant, tasty, flavorful and, mostly, what you make of them.

Roasting has been my favored way of cooking many vegetables for a long time and you can read some of my basic rules on roasting here. A good toss in olive oil, pop them in the oven and, voila, caramelized deliciousness. If I’m not roasting a veggie in the oven, I’m often sauteing them in a pan with olive oil and spices. No more treating veggies like they’re meant to be kept in the bottom drawer of the refrigerator, ya hear me? Elevate your veggies and taste the glory of their goodness!

Two of my favorite snackable veggies are the shishito pepper and radishes! Yes, RADISHES! Nope, you won’t catch me snacking on either of these raw. It’s only through the royal treatment of cooking that I entertain snacking on them. Get ready for a new level of satisfaction!

Blistered Shishito Peppers

Vibrant green in color, thin skinned and a little bit wrinkly - this is the most snackable cooked pepper you’ll meet! Mild in flavor, they’re easy to munch on and keep popping! You may want to be aware that every once in a while there’s a spicy one in the bunch (isn’t there always??) but don’t be alarmed, those are far and few between. Found on many a high-end bar menu these days, I also love preparing shishitos at home by simply blistering them in a pan with oil, adding salt and finishing with a squeeze of lemon or lime right to the pan. I often drizzle them, upon serving, with tahini and a tiny bit more salt. Savory snacking goodness.

To Prepare Blistered Shishito Peppers

Heat 1 T. of extra virgin olive oil over medium high heat
Add peppers and allow them to sit until you hear them popping (shhhh, they’re blistering)
Sprinkle with salt and squeeze a tablespoon of lemon or lime in the pan and toss to coat
Cook for 5-7 minutes and monitor the heat so your peppers do not burn, allow them to blister to a dark brown on either side, they should look marbled with blisters
Remove from heat, plate, drizzle with tahini, sprinkle with salt and serve with more lime or lemon wedges (optional)

Oven Roasted Radishes

Poor radishes, they get a bad rap as the discarded veggie on a veggie tray or used as garnish. Dried up, right next to stringy celery. But, no more. Also, don’t throw away your radish greens, they make for a fantastic and slightly peppery pesto that you’ll want to also try making. Roasting radishes is easy and fast and roasting brings out their slightly spicy flavor and buttery texture. Once they’re roasted you can serve them tossed in a green salad with other roasted veggies, or you can toss them with other roasted roots - think carrots, butternut squash and sweet potatoes and dress with balsamic, olive oil and tahini (if you like things creamy) for a lettuce-less salad (a personal favorite of mine)

To Prepare Oven Roasted Radishes

Preheat oven to 435 degrees and prepare a roasting tray with foil or a silpat (disclaimer: I gravely dislike scrubbing roasting trays so I always roast on foil or a silpat, choose your own adventure in roasting and cleaning)
Gather ye cleaned radishes (about 20) , slice in half and place in a large bowl
Toss radishes with 1 T. extra virgin olive oil, salt and black pepper
Place face down on the tray and pop in the oven for 20-25 minutes, turning and checking the radishes at the halfway point
Once a the white side is a deep brown, remove from the oven and allow to slightly cool
Serve as noted above or snack on them as is
They pair LOVELY with pieces of pecorino romano, parmiggiano or feta on a veggie board as well

Snackable Veggies: The Shishito Pepper and The Radish