Radish Leaf Pesto

I planted radish seeds a month or so ago, and, as is my tendency, planted way too many way too close together. No big deal because they can be thinned out and eaten as micro greens. Except that following the heat of the labor day weekend, the leaves were brimming over one another and already sort of prickly and tough. Not so micro.

But then I got some renewed inspiration from Clotilde (I am loving the way her name looks) and her blog, "Chocolate and Zucchini." Clotilde is French, lives in Montmartre, and has some really nice looking recipes (and a book or two too). There are lots of French cooking sorts of things, and also French words and a handy conversion chart for weights and measuring. The blog is in French and English, for anyone who wants to get in a little French language practice.

Anyhow, Clotilde gives some props to the radish leaf, something I did not know could be eaten in its larger form - and let me tell you, this Radish Leaf Pesto is totally snappy and delicious. (She also mentions putting them in soups and gratins - yum.) So, with scissors in hand, I snipped and thinned out the radish leaves right into the lettuce washer.

With today's muggy weather, I decided I just wanted raw veggies (crudites as Clotilde might say) - though she offers many creative suggestions abut the uses of pesto. I happened to have mascarpone - clearly purchased so that I could eat it tonight with this pesto. I think that there might just be something about having the season's first pesto - with the tomatoes it was totally divine.