Radishes are a vastly underrated vegetable. Not used for much more than adding a splash of inedible red to a display or as an oft-rejected topping in the salad bar at Whole Foods, here’s an innovative and fresh take on these tiny root vegetables. They’re perfect for combining old with new and for ringing in the New Year with a traditional concept: the French tartine, or open-faced sandwich. Don’t be afraid to try these if bitter, earthy stuff isn’t your thing — soaking the radishes eases up some of that bite, and the creaminess of the unsalted butter swept along the base blends seamlessly with the crunch of the salt dusting the top. These crunchy little Valentines are best served chilled, either to fuel friends gathering before a night on the town or to conjure up a last-minute fancy fix for a grown-up dinner party you’re scrambling for.

1 bunch Cherry Belle radishes, aka standard grocery store radishes.

1 baguette, preferably a fresh, non-stale one. Cutting a stale baguette is a great way to lose a finger.

6 tbsp unsalted butter.

4 tbsp sea salt. Regular table salt works too, but sea salt adds a nice texture.

Leave your butter in the sunlight for about 20 minutes before you begin to let it reach room temperature and soften.

Thoroughly wash the radishes to get any grocery store gunk off of them, but don’t worry about removing them from their bunch; you can just pop them off the stems. Prepare a small bowl of ice water. Thinly slice all of the radishes with either a small but very sharp knife or a mandoline, throwing out the narrow tips and the stemmy tops. Be careful with this part; it’s best to curl your fingers around the tip of the radish like a claw rather than keeping them straight. Don’t worry if every slice isn’t paper-thin, but you do want to see some translucence. Slide the radish slices into the ice water. Once all the radishes are sliced and submerged, put the bowl in the refrigerator.

Using a bread knife, slice the baguette into pieces about half an inch thick, being careful to keep them mostly flat on both sides. Spread your softened butter with a butter knife in generous layers over each baguette piece. After buttering, bring your radishes out of the fridge and grab some paper towels at the same time. Before picking out pieces of radish to layer evenly over the buttered baguette, pat each slice dry with the paper towels. One layer of radishes covering most of the butter is all you need. Sprinkle the sea salt lightly on the top. Serve chilled. Enjoy