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This is the kind of dish that makes you want to pause, to appreciate the play of flavors and textures. It is the marriage of inspiration and moderation. No grains, no sugar, but lots of grass-fed fat, creaminess and nutrition.
I’ve been on the GAPS Diet for almost 4 years. During that time my sweet tooth took flight and has not been seen since. (It must have followed my pathogen overgrowth, whoopee!!)
What came in their place is a love for aged cheese. It is my satisfying, savory indulgence.
We have a cheese plate at every meal, even breakfast. Like the tang that sauerkraut gives, that helps you feel done, the fat and richness of cheese don’t leave you wanting for more. You know when you’re full.
Recently I found my favorite replacement for pasta. I have long loved zucchini noodles (“zoodles”) with tomato sauce and sausage, as well as other toppings. But I also have a unique love affair with the often-overlooked radish family.
Daikon radish makes the best pasta! Have you tried it?
This recipe is not shy. It offers bold flavors delivered by cozy, creamy textures. The subtle spice of radish pasta, the earthy zest of chorizo, the aged bite of blue cheese with the nutty red bell pepper are all massaged with cream and butter.
This is a sublime dinner for those of us on GAPS because it’s hard to believe we’re “allowed” to have something so good. Even some raging hedonist who wouldn’t dare dip their toe in the waters of a healing diet will swoon and feel deeply satisfied with this dish!
I hope you won’t feel afraid of radishes! I’m a big proponent of cultivating an enjoyment of all the tastes, including bitter and spicy. More depth of emotion and experience awaits us when we dare to acquire new likes.
The generous fat from cheese, cream and butter is also something to embrace. These fats should be grass-fed. When sourced thus, they will leave you satisfied and provide the cholesterol our bodies crave, as well as omega-3 fatty acids.
Ingredients
- 24 inches of daikon radish, 2-3 inches in girth (see photo); this might be two foot-long pieces of daikon or 3-4 pieces, depending on how your market processes and displays the vegetable
- 1 lb. sustainably sourced chorizo
- 1 red bell pepper, de-seeded and sliced
- 1/2 cup heavy cream, grass-fed (or grass-fed butter if you don’t eat cream yet, healing-wise)
- 3 oz. blue cheese, crumbled, Organic Valley brand recommended
- 2 T. grass-fed butter
- 3/4 tsp. sea salt
Method
- Peel the radish.
- Use a spiralizer
or vegetable peeler to create long noodles from the radish, rotating it as you go. Leave a core or stub behind when it gets too hard to create more noodles, depending on what kind of spiralizer you are using. (The core is delicious, [depending on how efficient your spiralizer is] cold, crispy and juicy to snack on raw.)
- Cook the chorizo over medium heat in a large cast iron skillet, breaking up the meat into bite-size pieces as it cooks.
- After 5 minutes, add the red bell pepper. Cook over medium-low heat until the pork is cooked through, about 15 minutes longer.
- Meanwhile melt the butter in a large cast iron skillet or broad-based Dutch oven. Add the noodles and sea salt.
- Saute them over medium heat, tossing them gently to evenly cook the noodles, for 10 minutes, until they are wilted and hot.
Cooking daikon noodles on the woodstove. - Toss the noodles with heavy cream, stirring and folding it in.
- Plate the noodles, topping each mounded portion with sausage, red bell peppers and the blue cheese crumbles.
- Serve with a green salad of romaine or arugula and sprouted walnuts, if tolerated.
Jessica says
Oh my! This looks so good. I have used regular radishes as a potato sub but have not tried daikon ones yet. I need to do it soon.
Megan Stevens says
Thanks, I think you’ll love these noodles. 🙂
emilysv says
OMG this sounds amazing! I love daikon, I never would have thought of this. What a great idea!
Megan Stevens says
🙂 So glad to hear you love daikon. It’s a bit underused in our country. But hopefully that will keep changing!
Renee Kohley says
I love chorizo! Never thought of the daikon noodles – will be trying it 🙂
Megan Stevens says
So glad! It’s nice, too, that there are chorizos out there that are sugar-free and made only with whole food ingredients, since not everyone has the time or energy to make homemade.
The Food Hunter says
Sounds wonderful…can’t wait to try it
Megan Stevens says
🙂
How We Flourish says
This looks DELICIOUS! I’ll definitely be saving this for later. What do the daikon radishes tastes like? Do they tastes like traditional radishes.
Megan Stevens says
Yes, but milder. I really enjoy the earthy spiciness; but they are not spicy like a hot pepper.
naturallyloriel says
OH man do I love chorizo. I need to get me some now. This looks delicious!
Megan Stevens says
🙂
sensiblysustainable says
Wow this looks delicious! I’ve never tried daikon radishes… will have to check that out!
Rande Moss says
I’ve made “noodles” of all sorts of things but never daikon! yum!
linda spiker says
Whoop! The site and the recipe look awesome Megan!
Megan Stevens says
Thanks, Linda! 🙂
Naomi says
Love the new site! Daikon radish noodles, great idea, I’ll have to try!
Megan Stevens says
Thanks, Naomi! 🙂
Jenna says
Ever since cleaning up my diet and nourishing my body with real food, I get very passionate about the meals I eat. It’s as if you’ve read my mind with this beautifully written blog post and put all my emotions when eating an out of this world dish into words. I have never prepared or tried daikon radishes and I’m so excited to find them after reading this post. Thank you for enticing my tastebuds to continue searching for things to broaden my palate. Great post!
Megan Stevens says
Oh my goodness, thank you for your kind words. I sure love what I do; but it makes it all the more worthwhile when I can share passion with a reader!! Enjoy!! <3
Peace says
Wow, I have never even cooked a daikon radish, let-alone thought to use it as pasta! I love them raw and eat a lot when in season. Radishes are an amazing source of sulfur, which supports healthy detoxification. Thanks for your inspiration 🙂
Megan Stevens says
Thanks, Peace! 🙂