steamed-fennel-carrots-radishes-passover-salsa-verde

Carrots and Radishes with Passover Herb Salsa Verde (Photo by Alison Ashton)

Passover Seder side dish inspiration: the Seder plate. Seriously. You’re buying all those herbs, alliums, and radishes anyway. Why not use the extras in a Passover Herb Salsa Verde to serve over steamed fennel, carrots, and radishes?

Yes, radishes. When steamed (or roasted), their sharpness mellows into a young turnip-like sweetness. That may sound oxymoronic, but if you’ve ever had truly young turnips, you know what I’m talking about.

Simply steam wedges of fennel, fat carrots–those round French ones are wonderful here–and French breakfast or pink Japanese Shunkyo radishes until they’re just tender. Shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes. Use any combination of Passover herbs for the salsa—lots of parsley accented with mint, garlic or leek chives, or regular chives, and so on. Serve warm or room temperature with a luxurious pour of salsa.

And if you boiled too many eggs to pass around during your Seder, sieve or chop the extras over the top of this dish.

Steamed Fennel, Carrots, and Radishes with Passover Herb Salsa Verde

Makes 6 to 8 servings

3 or 4 nice fennel bulbs, 1 ½ to 2 pounds total
1 bunch carrots
1 bunch radishes
Kosher or sea salt

For the Salsa Verde:
1 cup fresh herbs — a mix of parsley, mint, chives, and garlic or leek chives is nice
1 lemon
½ cup olive oil
½ to 1 teaspoon salt

To serve:
1 hardboiled egg, sieved, optional

Trim fennel bulbs and cut into vertical wedges. Peel carrots and cut into ¼-inch-thick diagonal slices. Or, if using round carrots, cut them in half. Cut radishes in half lengthwise. Steam fennel and carrots over salted water until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add radishes and steam until just tender, about 3 minutes. Arrange on a serving platter and spoon salsa verde over. Top with sieved or chopped egg, if desired.

To make the Salsa Verde: Chop the herbs. Zest the lemon over the herbs and chop all very fine. Heat the oil in a small pot. Add the chopped herbs, a healthy squeeze of the lemon, and salt. The salsa should be tart and salty. You’ll have more than enough for this side dish; use the rest as a condiment for fish, poultry, or meat.

Need a few more ideas for your Seder? Try these recipes: