Day 81: Radishes with Anchovy Cream
inspired by Clipstone
I’m not going to lie, I’m really starting to miss Central London now.
Don’t get me wrong. I love South East London. Love it. We moved into our house six months ago. And I couldn’t be more grateful. The idea of surviving lockdown in a small flat, with no garden, is horrendous. Living here is what has made the last few months a pleasure, rather than something to be endured. And I am forever grateful for this.
But there is a downside. If we were still living in New Cross, still South East London but a lot closer to town, then I could have my pick of amazing restaurants that would deliver food parcels to my door.
Sadly now we have moved five miles further out (still in zone 3 though, it’s hardly out in the sticks) we are out of the delivery radius of most places.
So it’s definitely a good thing I started this cooking challenge. Recreating restaurant food at home. Not just because restaurants are closed. But also because most of their delicious takeaway is also out of reach.
Clipstone is another example of the ability for independent restaurants to transform themselves in these difficult times. Their restaurant has becomes a shop, open five days a week to pick up all sorts of delicious goodies. They also deliver within about a six mile radius of the restaurant.
Alas at almost nine miles away this doesn’t include me.
But that doesn’t mean I can’t make something myself. And I have a dish in mind.
“Radishes with Anchovy Cream”
Sounds a bit odd doesn’t it? A fishy cream….
But I’m going to give it a try. Partly because I have lots of radishes to eat up. And partly because I reckon I can make this in five minutes.
Today I am determined to finish my last set of 10 scrubs, heading to NHS workers via the amazing efforts of the English National Opera Costume Department. Half of my tops still don’t have sleeves, so there’s no time for cooking.
And this is a no cook recipe. A quick blitz of a few ingredients in a blender is all it takes.
Oh and I have to clean and chop the radishes I suppose. Gosh this cooking malarky is a lot of effort sometimes isn’t it? This might take 10 minutes with the amount of soil I have to wash off my homegrown radishes. I just don’t have time for this.
Of course now that we live in the back and beyond of South East London we had to grow our own veg. Almost mandatory. Being so far from the action means we need to be practically self sufficient.
Thankfully not all the radishes need a clean. I also have some lovely looking purple ones from Oddbox last week. Very pretty. Not as peppery as my homegrown ones, these are crisper and sweeter.
I have a feeling this will be the first of many occasions where I get produce in my veg box that I also have growing in my garden. I pray that they don’t start sending me courgettes any time soon. I’ve got more than enough of those already. Oddbox, if you’re reading this (which I’m fairly certain you are not) please don’t send me any courgettes. Thanks.
It turns out the anchovy cream is delicious. It’s sharp, creamy and salty. Perfect with fresh, crunchy veg. Next time I make this I will serve it with all sorts of different veg, not just radishes.
But no time for that now. Those sleeves aren’t going to attach themselves.
Radishes with Anchovy Cream
Ingredients
- 1 handful radishes, or any other crunchy veg such as celery carrots or peppers
- 2 tbsp creme fraiche
- ½ lemon
- 1 tsp capers
- 4 anchovy fillets in oil
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley and dill
Instructions
- Wash and cut your radishes, or whichever raw veg you like, into bitesize pieces and arrange on a plate.
- To make the anchovy cream add the creme fraiche, anchovy fillets, chopped herbs and capers into a food processor. Add a little of the caper brine too. Now squeeze in the juice of half a lemon and drizzle in a little of the oil from the anchovies. Blitz until you have a smooth cream. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
- Serve in a bowl and dip in the crunchy veg. Enjoy!