A “radz-at-han” is a traditional Jewish dish from Romania.
The name is Yiddish for radish, and the dish consists of a small dollop of sour cream taken from a raw white onion mixed with grated raw white onions, green onions chopped fine, salt, pepper and vinegar.
Frying the radishes in butter or oil before adding to the rest of ingredients will add flavor and color to your radz-at-han .
You can also add other types of fresh or pickled vegetables, such as chopped tomato, green pepper, cucumber, carrots and cabbage.
Some people add mushrooms to the radz-at-han. The radz-at-han is usually served with other Jewish dishes from Romania such as “haness” or “naknitz”-both traditional soup dishes from Romania.
Radz-at-Han should not be confused with pickled raw onions which are served at room temperature with most cold cuts. The traditional way of serving radz-at-han is at room temperature or cold (not hot).
Radz-at-han is also a variation of the world famous sour cream and onion flavor of potato chips or crispbread crackers. The texture of radz-at-han is more fluffy than the crunchy texture of potato chips or crackers.
The radz-at-han is more creamy than raw onions, pickles (a pickle has vinegar) or any other type of raw onion dish. It is also not as salty as most other types of onion dishes due to the fact that it does not contain any salt (other than what you add).
Radz-at-han is also an alternative for those who prefer a sour cream and onion potato chip or cracker without all of the fat or calories.
In addition, to add a creamy taste and texture to your food in a healthy way, you can add a dollop of radz-at-han in a small bowl to the middle of any dish consisting of meat or poultry, such as chicken soup or gefilte fish.
You can also add your radz-at-han to any omelet you make using fresh mushrooms and onions.
Ingredients and preparation steps for radz-at-han are :
1. Clean and chop the white onion into small chunks.
2. Clean and chop the green onion into small chunks.
3. If you wish to add any other vegetables, such as cucumbers, carrots, green peppers chopped fine, pickled tomatoes or cabbage, these can be added to the onions before being chopped.
4. Wash and dry freshly harvested radishes or spring mix radishes from a farm near your home(preferably organic).
Radishes should be slightly under ripe for a better taste and texture in your radz-at-han.
Be sure that those from the store were sprayed with chemicals to keep them from rotting prematurely. Wash those from a farm well before using them in foods.
5. Slice the radishes into fine, long, thin slices or “rings.” Slice the green onions into fine long thin rings.
6. The next step is very important in making a successful radz-at-han: you need to run the radishes and green onions under cold water for about one minute so that they get thoroughly washed and cleaned, then put them in a colander or strainer and let them drain and dry for about ten minutes before frying them in butter or olive oil.
7. After the radishes and green onions are washed, drained and dried, they can be fried in butter over medium heat for about 20 minutes.
The radishes will become soft after frying for about 15 to 20 minutes; but be careful not to burn them (adding a little water or lemon juice to the pan every once and a while may stop them from burning).
8. After the radish and onions have been fried, they should be cooled down and then mixed with grated white onion, salt, pepper and vinegar. This mixture is your radz-at-han.
9. The radz-at-han is ready to be served when it has cooled, and you can begin serving it into bowls or plates after it has cooled down.
10. Just before serving, place a dollop of fresh sour cream on top of the radz-at-han in a small bowl.
As a variation, you can also add a dollop of sour cream to the middle of each bowl or plate before plating your radz-at-han, if desired.
Radz-at-Han is best served warm or cold with other traditional Romanian Jewish dishes such as “Haness” or “Naknitz”.
The traditional way of serving radz-at-han is at room temperature or cold.
Radz-at-han can also be served with meats or poultry, such as chicken soup or “gefilte fish”, to add a creamy taste and texture to your food in a healthy way.
