Sauteed Radishes with Garlic Dill Butter

Veggies are better with butter.  I know it and you know it, and trying to say otherwise is just a little silly.  

Of course, there is a huge place in our diets for less fat, more raw veg, all the things that we know are good for us.  BUT, if adding some garlic butter makes you eat more radishes, is it a bad thing?  I think not.  

This is a super simple side dish that comes together quickly, with huge flavor and not a ton of ingredients.  I love radishes when they're slightly soft but not mushy.  I also like them raw, which was the inspiration for this dish - lots of cultures have a raw radish/salted butter snack or salad that appears at big meals, and I LOVE it.  I wanted to cook these to avoid a whole plate of raw radishes, and adding garlic and dill to the butter just made sense.  

It's easy!  In addition to the radishes you'll need salted butter, fresh dill, salt, and a small garlic clove.  I get the butter out of the fridge a few hours in advance so it's nice and soft when I'm ready to use it.  

For the butter, start by finely chopping the dill and garlic.  

Then, sprinkle some coarse salt on the dill - it'll help mash the dill and garlic to avoid any big chunks of garlic in the butter.  

Chop the garlic, dill, and salt together until it's finely ground, almost like sand.  

Add the dill mixture to the butter.  I use salted, but unsalted is fine if that's what you have!  

Use a fork to mash the butter into a smooth mixture.  This is where super soft butter is helpful!  I spoon this into a little dish and stick it back in the fridge to firm up slightly while I cook the radishes.  

For the quick saute, heat a large skillet to medium-high heat with a drizzle of olive oil, and thinly slice the radishes.  

When the skillet is hot, add the radishes in one layer to the skillet and sprinkle them lightly with salt.  Toss them around for 3-5 minutes until the radishes are browned on some edges but still somewhat firm - not mushy at all.  

Now, we eat.  I love how simple this is and how great the dill + garlic + radishes work.  To serve I put some of the cold butter over the hot radishes and let the butter melt over the plate.  If some gets on the rest of your meal or a hunk of bread you know that's no problem at all either.  

Radishes are in season right now, so get some soon!  And then let's have group therapy about what else we can do with this butter.  

Enjoy!