Radishes are one of my favorite vegetables, raw or cooked.

So what's the "secret" in a recipe that has just seven ingredients?
Let me answer that with another question: When was the last time you saw cooked radishes on the menu?
While sauteed radishes are nothing new, it's rare to find them at restaurants in any form other than topping salads or being served with butter and salt. But cooking them in butter brings out entirely different qualities. Radishes are one of my favorite vegetables, raw or cooked.
You can imagine my delight then when I saw that Bridget Batson had radishes sauteed in harissa butter on the menu at Gitane. Batson was the long-time chef of Hawthorne Lane, which morphed into Two. Last year she moved over to Gitane, an Iberian-inspired restaurant that has one of the sexiest interiors in San Francisco, what with its highly reflective polymer ceiling and corner booths occupied by nuzzling couples.
Batson is one of the few chefs I know who put lamb tartare on the menu. She also dusts sardines in semolina, fries them and serves the fish with hearts of palm, grapes and a verjus creme fraiche.
She draws from the flavors of Spain, Portugal, southern France and Morocco to create such dishes as a tajine with saffron tomato broth, braised oxtail, celery root noodles and pickled baby beets. The menu is accented by a wine list filled with selections from the area along with more than 30 sherries.
For the radish dish, Batson first quickly sautees the vegetable in water and then bathes it in butter flavored with harissa, a hot chile paste from northern Africa. A sprinkling of parsley and smoked sea salt, and the radishes are ready to serve.
They're simple, and simply delicious.
Gitane, 6 Claude Lane (near Kearny and Bush), San Francisco; (415) 788-6686 or gitanerestaurant.com. Dinner Tuesday-Saturday.

The secrets

Radishes: Most times we see these in salads; here they're sauteed and served hot. Breakfast radishes work best because they are a bit milder, but any radish will work.
Harissa: This hot chile paste adds a distinct element and brings out sweetness in the radishes.

Gitane's Rabanetes With Harissa

Serves 4
Harissa - a North African spice blend more commonly found as a paste - is known for its kick. While it is often used as a condiment, Gitane executive chef Bridget Batson combines it with butter to make this quick, unusual dish. The leftover compound butter is great to finish simply cooked chicken or as a sandwich spread. Smoked sea salt is available at specialty stores or well-stocked grocers.

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon harissa spice (dry preferred)
• -- Kosher salt, to taste
• -- Black pepper, to taste
• 2 cups halved radishes, Flambo or French Breakfast variety, if possible
• 1 tablespoon minced Italian parsley
• -- Smoked sea salt, for garnish

Instructions: Combine butter and harissa in a small bowl and mix well by hand or with an electric hand mixer until well combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
In a saute pan over medium heat, saute the radishes with a few tablespoons of water for 3 minutes, or until slightly soft. Toss in the parsley; add salt and pepper to taste. Add about 2 tablespoons of harissa butter and a pinch of smoked sea salt; cook until butter just melts. Add additional harissa butter to taste, if desired.
Per serving: 63 calories, 1 g protein, 3 g carbohydrate, 6 g fat (4 g saturated), 16 mg cholesterol, 15 mg sodium, 1 g fiber.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/01/28/FD4P1HEPEV.DTL#ixzz1CdIlvawE