A Spring Radish Salad

First Come, First Served

LONG BEFORE THE FIRST TIPS of asparagus push through the dirt, there’s green from sorrel, chives, and even parsley that struggled through the winter, and from a greenhouse there are lettuce, spinach, and radishes. Radishes pop up fast; they can be ready in less than a month. The East Asian varieties (daikon, including watermelon) are generally larger and take longer. For spring, it’s European radishes. Unlike a supermarket radish, a homegrown European radish can catch you by surprise with a jolt of heat. (The Italian word for radish, ravanello, means “little horseradish.”) The same combination of sweet and peppery shows up to a degree in other members of the broad cabbage-mustard family.