Radish leaves make surprising dishes

The Chronicle's rooftop garden provides all sorts of produce for the Food & Wine staff to try out in our test kitchen, sometimes in unexpected ways.

To match with wine, choose a pert Sauvignon Blanc with a slightly grassy character to complement the lively fresh greenness of the radish leaf pesto.

For the soup, try a light red such as Beaujolais or an Oregon Pinot Noir, especially good with the chicken-apple sausage.

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 1/4 cup unsalted roasted peanuts 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic 1/4 cup olive oil or canola oil-- Kosher salt 3/4 cup ricotta cheese24 crostini --

Dumping everything into a colander can dump the dirt back onto the leaves. Rinse and slice the radishes thinly for garnish, if desired.

Quickly blanch the leaves in a pot of well-salted boiling water for 5-10 seconds, then plunge in ice water to stop the cooking and set the color; drain and squeeze dry.

Drizzle in the olive or canola oil, and continue blending, stopping to scrape as needed, until the mixture becomes fairly fine; it's OK if there are small pieces of nuts.

Per crostini: 65 calories, 1 g protein, 1 g carbohydrate, 6 g fat (1 g saturated), 2 mg cholesterol, 14 mg sodium, .5 g fiber.

5 to 6 ounces trimmed tender radish tops, about 1 1/2-2 large bunches 1 large leek, trimmed of dark green top and root end4 to 6 teaspoons olive oil, as needed-- Kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic1 small russet potato, about 4 ounces, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks 2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth2 1/2 cups water 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon Champagne or white wine vinegar-- Freshly ground black pepper3 to 4 ounces cooked chicken apple sausage, diced small 1/2 cup cooked brown rice-- Extra virgin olive oil, to finishInstructions:

Dumping everything into a colander can dump the dirt back onto the leaves. Shake or spin the leaves, then coarsely chop.

Per serving: 173 calories, 9 g protein, 16 g carbohydrate, 9 g fat (2 g saturated), 19 mg cholesterol, 215 mg sodium, 2 g fiber.