When we lived in Texas one of our favorite restaurants to go to was Torchy’s Tacos. I was partial to a “trashy” Trailer Park taco. (But I would often add a deep fried avocado slice from my son’s kids meal.) We liked to try the taco of the month as well.
The great thing about Torchy’s is all the combinations of sauces and toppings on their tacos. I grew up eating a very basic prescribed taco. Torchy’s Tacos taught us a better way.
The first easy fix was learning what the crumbly white “cotija cheese” was, and that it’s readily available in mainstream grocery stores. But we also needed to get a little bit more adventurous with our taco toppings.
Pickled vegetables make great taco toppings, and these pickled radishes with cilantro and carrots are a fun recipe to make from the spring garden.
Tips for Garden Fresh Ingredients
Many people think of cilantro as a summer salsa ingredient. But cilantro is actually a cool season crop. It does not like the heat and tends to “bolt”, or go to seed, quickly. There are a few ways you can try to get a longer harvest from your cilantro in the summer: plant in partial shade, succession plant, plant a slow-bolt variety.
Cilantro can grow in partial shade. Crops grown for their leaves need the least amount of sunlight, which is around 3-5 hours of direct sun. It would be best if this was morning or afternoon sun, avoiding direct sun during the hottest time of the day. Planting cilantro in partial shade will help it grow longer in the summer without bolting.
Another thing you can do is succession plant cilantro. Basically this means to plant cilantro a number of times a week or two apart. This way you you have cilantro getting ready to harvest in succession. Just plan on harvesting the whole first crop before going on to the next. Hopefully you can use it before it bolts.
If it does get away from you and starts to bloom, just move on to harvesting the next crop. You can succession plant next to the first planting or you can gow successive crops different places in your garden.
One more thing you can try is to grow a “slow-bolt” variety of cilantro that has been cultivated to tolerate heat better than standard varieties. I received some slow-bolt seeds from a seed swap this year and will be trying them this year.
Radishes are an easy spring crop and are ready to harvest at the same time as cilantro and lettuces.
Radishes and lettuces are also both good things to succession plant to extend their harvest. (See the second row of radish sprouts popping up in the foreground?)
Everyone needs to grow radishes, though. They come in the most beautiful colors, and they are ready to harvest so quickly, it gives you a real gardening confidence-booster at the beginning of gardening season.
If you don’t like the heat or spice of radishes, don’t worry. The pickling process of this recipe actually takes the heat down quite a few notches. You could use homegrown carrots in this recipe, but I did not have any ready at this time.
Recipe Instructions
Begin by making a basic salt water brine. Combine 2 cups of water with a tablespoon of pickling salt. This brine can be used to pickle any hard vegetables. (Soft vegetables like cabbage create their own brine simply from adding salt).
I like to prepare my vegetables with a mandolin. It makes it very easy to create consistently thin slices and matchsticks.
Slice the carrots into matchsticks.
Slice the radishes into rounds. You could also slice them into matchsticks like the carrots, but I liked the contrasting shapes.
Chop up cilantro.
Toss all the ingredients to combine.
Then just appreciate those beautiful colors for a minute!
Pack veggies it into a mason jar.
Cover the vegetables with a salt water brine.
I like to put a little jar on top to keep oxygen out but it will bubble and spit as it ferments so set it on top of a plate to catch that bubbling over. You can buy a specialty fermenting lid, but I don’t have any yet.
Leave it on the counter for about two weeks. Then taste test it to see if it’s fermented enough. If the flavor is not very strong yet you could let it ferment longer.
In the middle of summer temperatures you want to ferment it in a cooler location in your home, and it may only take a week and a half before it has fermented enough. At that point you can store it in the fridge. Add it to your favorite tacos!
Pickled vegetables make great taco toppings, and these pickled radishes with cilantro and carrots are a fun recipe to make from the spring garden. Begin by making a basic salt water brine. Combine 2 cups of hot water with one tablespoon of pickling salt. Slice carrots into 1 inch matchsticks. Slice radishes into matchsticks or thin slices. Roughly chop cilantro. Toss all the ingredients to combine. Pack into a mason jar. Cover the vegetables with salt water brine. Cover with a fermenting weight and lid. Or use a little jar on top to keep oxygen out. The jar will bubble and spit as it ferments so set it on top of a plate to catch that liquid. Leave it on the counter for about two weeks. Then taste test it to see if it's fermented enough. If the flavor is not very strong yet you could let it ferment longer. Ambient temperature affects the fermentation process. It could take as little as one and a half weeks in warm summer, or up to three weeks when very cool. Store in the fridge. Add it to your favorite tacos!Pickled Radish Taco Topping
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