Recipe: radish pickles with garden herbs
The salty brine in this dish lets the radishes’ spicy flavour shine through

Radishes are very easy to grow, even in small spaces such as windowsills, says Dr Alanna Collen. And the beauty of them is that you get two crops in one: the root and the leaves.
The pink, peppery root makes a fantastic pickle, and using salt brine in place of vinegar helps their fresh, spicy flavour shine through.
This recipe makes a 200g jar. Fermentation time: 3-21 days.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
You will need:
- 200g sterilised jar, with an airtight lid
- Grapevine leaf/horseradish leaf/bay leaves/a clean square of cloth, for weighing down
- 150g radish roots, tops removed
- A few sprigs of garden herbs (thyme, bay leaves, dill)
- 1 garlic clove, halved
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 100ml water
Method
- Clean the radishes. Pack them into the jar, tucking the herbs and garlic in as you go. Use a grapevine/bay/horseradish leaf, bay leaves or a clean cloth to cap the top of the radishes, which will hold them under the brine.
- Whisk the salt into the water until fully dissolved. Pour this brine over the radishes, filling the jar right to the top (you might have excess brine).
- Secure an airtight lid on the jar and set it on a plate (to hold brine that might bubble out). Leave to ferment at room temp for as little as 3 days or as long as 3 weeks (depends on how strong a flavour you want). The longer the ferment, the funkier.
- Transfer to the fridge to halt fermentation. Eat within 3 months. The pickles are lovely served with grilled mackerel or with hummus and a salad.
Taken from “Recipes to Reconnect”, edited by Anna Boglione, published by Octopus at £35. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £27.99 (incl. p&p), call 020-3176 3835 or visit theweekbookshop.co.uk.
Sign up for The Week’s Food & Drink newsletter for recipes, reviews and recommendations.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Sweden's Soft Hooligans: the fans who brought 'good vibes' to the Euros
Under the Radar Formed to create a fun fan atmosphere, the Swedish football supporter group has been bringing the party to the championship
-
Crossword: July 18, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
-
Codeword: July 18, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
6 peaceful homes near small towns
Feature Featuring doors with local topographical maps in Oregon and a 1850s homestead-turned-house in Vermont
-
Too Much: London-set romantic comedy from Lena Dunham
The Week Recommends Megan Stalter stars as a 'neurotic' New Yorker who falls in love with a Brit
-
Apocalypse in the Tropics: a 'troubling' portrait of modern Brazil
The Week Recommends Petra Costa's sobering documentary examines the rise of right-wing evangelical Christianity in Brazilian politics
-
Murderland: a 'hauntingly compulsive' book
The Week Recommends Caroline Fraser sets out a 'compelling theory' that toxins were to blame for the 1970s serial killer epidemic
-
The 2025 James Beard Award winners
Feature Featuring a casually elegant restaurant, recipes nearly lost to war, and more
-
Film reviews: Superman and Sorry, Baby
Feature A hero returns, in surprising earnest, and a woman navigates life after a tragedy
-
Music reviews: Lorde, Barbra Streisand, and Karol G
Feature "Virgin," "The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two," and "Tropicoqueta"
-
Laura Lippman's 6 favorite books for those who crave a high-stakes adventure
Feature The Grand Master recommends works by E.L. Konigsburg, Charles Portis, and more