Roasted Zucchini and Radishes

Thank goodness for our CSA. Otherwise, we'd never have had the chance to learn that we like radishes! Sure, I'd have them raw in salads and the like... but I'd never warmed up to them and Dave didn't even know what they were when I pulled them out of the bag.

I'd found this recipe recently, almost by magic, as we'd just had some zucchini, yellow squash, and a bunch of radishes in last week's CSA. Clearly, we were meant to eat these veggies together.

We're trying to eat everything in our freezer, not only because I've stuffed it full of all our spare food, but also because we've already spent our "food budget" for the pay period - on concert tickets. :) We won't go hungry, because I often make full recipes of things, and since its just the two of us, I can freeze the extra for later.

All that out of the way, I didn't want to just have meatball sandwiches for dinner, knowing we'd need to eat these vegetables before they croaked. The recipe suggests that you separate the squash and radishes onto different pans, but since I had to fit the meatballs and toast the buns all in the same oven, I just mingled them early. (To no ill effect.)

I am happy to report that the zucchini, squash, and radishes roasted beautifully together and we gobbled them all up.

Roasted Zucchini and Radishes
Gourmet Magazine, June 2007
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/238681

Radishes, when roasted, lose their bite and perfectly complement the mellow sweetness of cooked zucchini.

2 pounds zucchini
7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 bunches large radishes (2 1/4 lb total with greens), greens discarded

Special equipment: 2 large (17- by 11-inch) shallow baking pans

Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven, then put baking pans on racks and preheat oven to 450°F.

Halve zucchini lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces. Toss with 1/4 cup oil, teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl. Halve radishes lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces. Toss with remaining 3 tablespoons oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in another large bowl. Working quickly, spread zucchini in pan on lower rack and radishes in pan on upper rack.

Roast vegetables, without stirring, until lightly browned and tender, 20 to 30 minutes, then toss together in a large bowl.

Makes 8 servings.