Should You Parcook Radishes Before Sautéing Them?

Radishes make for a fabulously healthy snack. They can be enjoyed raw, sliced up fresh and crisp, eaten like chips, or roasted with potatoes and dressed with herbs and a delicate vinaigrette. The radish is also the perfect crunchy garnish for any of your summer salads. According to The Ecology Center, we've been indulging in radishes since at least the 3rd century, and since then, we've discovered several ways to prepare them and enjoy their zesty and peppery flavor. But whatever way you like to prepare those delicious, crimson roots, whether puréed, uncooked, or baked, they have a lot to offer for your general health, especially that of your gut (via Healthline). 

One of our all-time favorite ways to prepare radish is making it sautéed. A sautéed radish has a softer flavor than a raw one, and pairs beautifully with other vegetables, including potatoes, winter greens, and even the radish's own leaves, which too many people are eager to toss out. They are flavorful as well, and perfect to eat on a cold day. But do you need to parcook (aka partially cook) your radishes before you cook them? Or are they good to go all on their own?

There are some vegetables out there that you definitely want to parcook. Artichokes, beets, carrots, and potatoes all benefit from being softened before hitting the heat. Parcooking is often done to ensure that hard veggies are thoroughly cooked before you eat them. But radishes, while wonderfully crunchy, are easy to eat raw with their characteristic peppery zing!

MasterClass says that you don't need to parcook or blanch radishes when your pan is hot and ready — just slice them up and throw them in along with some butter, salt, and pepper! That being said, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't ever par-boil your roots. According to The Real Food Dietitians, you may not need to parcook your radishes before using a secondary cooking method like sautéing, but you may want to par-boil them simply because they taste good! The French popularly serve par-boiled radishes with a side of butter as a snack.