Radishes, Butter and Baguette

If ever there was a dish that epitomized my family’s picnics, be they barbecues in my grandparent’s garden or on an alpine hike, this is it. No cooking is involved. All you need is a good, fresh baguette, some excellent butter, coarse sea salt and fresh, crisp radishes. Ours is certainly not the first, nor the last family to feature this simple appetizer in our roster of picnic dishes or as an appetizer for dinner parties. It’s a perennial favorite all over France. We always come back to it because it is so satisfying. It’s the pepperiness of the radishes mingling with the creaminess of the butter, the crunch of the fresh baguette, and the sprinkling of salt that enlivens everything. Dip the radish in the salt, munch, and then have a bite of the buttered baguette. Délicieux!