Yesterday, after I tossed radish leaves in the yard for the chickens, I wondered if radish leaves were edible for humans. They’re good enough for chickens, right? A quick Google search and yes, they are edible. One of the recipes I found was a pesto made from radish leaves.

With Hannah at cycling camp for the rest of the week, the field was clear to try something new, so I picked another round of radishes. A taste test confirmed they are edible, and taste okay. I used my regular basil pesto recipe with olive oil, pine nuts, garlic, Parmesan, salt and pepper. Except when I went for the Parmesan in the fridge, it was no where to be found. Don’t you hate it when you left something in the fridge, but it is no longer there? I digress – that’s another blog post. I substituted with Gruyere.

radish leaf pesto

I tossed it with spaghetti and added leftover chicken grilled yesterday when it was too hot to turn on the oven.

Paul liked the idea that I discovered a previously unknown food in the garden. After his first few bites he said, “this is an interesting experience.”

Now what does that mean? Really?

We rate meals in our house with the question, “Is this a make again?”

Radish leaf pesto pasta is definitely a make again. Give it a try!