Ravishing Radishes

"A tiny radish of passionate scarlet, tipped modestly in
white" - Clementine Paddleford

When I scan the produce department I am always drawn to the bright red radishes; their shape and color making them (from far away, anyway) almost look like ruby colored candies. I love radishes as an ingredient; they add a distinct peppery flavor and a cool, crisp texture. My supermarket was bursting with radishes today and I just had to have some.

We are still struggling along without a kitchen. We're eating a lot of sandwiches. But quite honestly (I know I've said this about avocados, but...) I think sandwiches are quite possibly the world's most perfect food. Think about it. Sandwiches can combine all your food groups in one neat, tasty package. In terms of portion control-assuming you are not exceedingly generous with the condiments-that Jared Fogle (he's the Subway sandwich guy) was really on to something.

No one is complaining around here. With all of the winding down of school activities and end of school year festivities sandwiches are probably what we would be having even if I had a kitchen.

These chicken sandwiches have a very slight bite to them, but if you would like to up the spice a bit just add a little more cayenne or a little more black pepper. For some of the sandwiches I washed some of the radish greens and tossed them in with the romaine-it was delicious. (I had actually never eaten the greens before, but I googled it and found that they were fine to eat - what do I know?) The flavor was very much like arugula-which I love.

Grilled Chicken Sandwiches with Baby Romaine and Radish Salad

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
6 Thin sliced boneless, skinless chicken breast cutlets
3 cups baby romaine lettuce leaves
1/3 cup thinly sliced red radishes
6 soft baguette/hoagie style rolls, split and lightly toasted
1/2 red onion, very thinly sliced
3 avocados, peeled and seed removed, then very thinly sliced

Rapidly whisk together the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, cayenne pepper, black pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of the kosher salt. Measure out 1/4 cup of the vinaigrette and set aside.

Arrange the chicken in a marinating container or large zipper top plastic bag; pour the remaining vinaigrette over the chicken. Marinate the chicken for 30 minutes.

Preheat a grill to medium high heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade and place on the grill rack; discard the marinade. Cook the chicken in a closed grill for 4 minutes, flip the chicken and cook an additional 3 minutes. Remove the chicken from the grill, season with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt and let rest.

Combine the romaine and the radish slices in a large bowl and pour the reserved vinaigrette over; stir to combine.

To assemble the sandwiches, arrange a chicken breast cutlet on the bottom half of each roll. Top the chicken with the sliced onion and the sliced avocado, evenly dividing. Using tongs, divide the romaine and radish salad between each sandwich arranging on top of the avocado. Slice each sandwich diagonally in half and serve.

Yield: 6 sandwiches