Springtime In Paris

There's plenty of clichés about Paris in the springtime that are true. But what I really am happy to see are the return of the radishes. I love radishes, and by the looks of things, so do Parisians...

Wow!
I can't get enough of them and I always get two bunches, since I eat one right away, dipping each crisp, spicy radish in a bowl of fleur de sel.

One radish vendor told me eating radishes will make you sleep better.
Lars, a German friend, told me to save the leaves and make soup (which sounds icky), and Chinese medicine practitioners eat daikon white radishes to 'cool' down. I remember as a kid, in my first (and only) garden I planted radishes, which actually grew!... unlike much of the other things I planted. I discovered it wasn't much fun pulling weeds when everyone else was playing, so the garden was abandoned after the first radish harvest.

Luckily radishes are in abundance right now, and I can buy them weekly at my local market in the Bastille, and I'm using them as much as I can. Aside from dipping them in salt, I thinly slice radishes and toss them with coarse frisée, toasted hazelnuts and hazelnut oil; a terrific salad served with a round of fresh or aged goat cheese. Trimmed radishes, split lengthwise, are tasty served alongside Tapenade.