Blackened with spice and roasted to hot, crispy perfection!
Sometimes developing a recipe is like taking a spontaneous road trip without a GPS. Buckle up, put the car in drive, and just go. You might take a few unexpected turns. Your destination might change. But the journey is more exciting than anything you could have planned.
These radish wedges started as three words floating around in my head.
Spicy. Radish. Butter.
The answer might seem obvious: a spiced butter with radishes grated into it. But I wanted a full dish, not a condiment, and I wanted radishes to be the star. Then I heard that you could actually roast radishes, and my recipe direction completed changed.
I’ll spare you all the twists and turns and dead ends I hit along the way—surprisingly, there were quite a few for such a simple recipe!—and cut where I landed: on these Cajun-Spiced Radish Wedges.
Roasted to hot, crispy perfection, these Cajun-Spiced Radish Wedges are sure to become your new favorite side. Rolling the radishes in classic Cajun spices and roasting them mellows their raw bitter bite and infuses them with tons of flavor, while that lemon garlic mayo adds the perfect cooling creaminess to round out the heat. They’re a great simple side dish for a weeknight, but they’d also make a terrific party food or game day snack. I mean, spicy, crispy wedges with a dipping sauce? Everyone’s sold.
If you’ve never roasted a radish before, it’s similar to roasting any other vegetable. You’re tossing them with oil (and in this case a ton of spices!) and cooking them at high heat on a bare baking sheet until they’re tender in the center and crisp on the edges. For best results, make sure the wedges aren’t too crowded on the baking sheet—you want to give them some space so their moisture can evaporate freely instead of steaming and sogging them out. You’ll also want to make sure they’re lying cut side down so those flat sides get maximum contact with the baking pan and caramelize more. More caramelization equals more flavor!
Whether you’re looking for a new dinner side or a fresh party snack, these Cajun-Spiced Radish Wedges are calling your name. Even if you’ve never roasted a radish—even if you think you don’t like radishes!—you absolutely need to give them a chance. After all, sometimes it’s good to step out into the unknown. You never know what great things are ahead!
Enjoy!
Cajun-Spiced Radish Wedges
(Serves 4)
1 pound radishes, cleaned, stemmed, and quartered
2 tablespoons neutral oil
¾ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon paprika, divided
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon cayenne powder
¼ teaspoon black pepper
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus additional for squeezing over radishes
1 small garlic clove, minced
Thinly sliced green onion, for topping
Special equipment: baking sheet
Method
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
In a large bowl, toss radish wedges with oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, cayenne, and black pepper. Spread onto a baking sheet and roast until tender inside and crisp around the edges, 25-30 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together mayonnaise, lemon juice, minced garlic, remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/8 teaspoon paprika. Refrigerate the aioli until ready to use.
Drizzle freshly squeezed lemon juice over radish wedges and sprinkle with thinly sliced green onion. Serve with lemon garlic aioli for dipping.
Originally posted March 27, 2022.
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