Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Baby turnips


Tiny turnips, so sandy they needed a good hour of soaking.

To be cooked slowly until tender with creamy butter beans, garlic and those frilly greens.

With pasta.


11 comments:

Anonymous said...

so you do use the leaves?

Lucy said...

I do! Added when the turnips are getting soft (these ones are small enough to cook whole) and the garlic cloves are almost tender, they are chopped and tossed in. All is left to simmer for a further 15 minutes.

The beans (left over from another dish) are added with a little of their cooking water 5 minutes before the end.

Green and good!

Susan said...

Another distinctive root vegetable, Lucy. I've had them boiled and sliced, coated in honey, mustard and lemon juice. My mother is indulging my love of butter beans with a patch in her garden this summer. I will plan on trying this when they come to harvest.

Freya said...

Turnip Tops - yum! I only recently tried turnips but I haven't looked back since. Love the idea of these baby ones too.

Lucy said...

Great flavours, Susan - I can't be left alone when a jar of mustard is open on the table! When the turnips are bigger a little later in the season, we'll eat them your way.

Freya - they were so small I couldn't resist them, though usually I veer away from 'baby' anything (too cutsie for me). But those greens were very good, and very fresh.

Anonymous said...

What a lovely idea, I would never have thought of turnips with pasta. I'm going to try and get some this week.

Lucy said...

Kathryn, it's a great combination, one that works well with a little grated parmesan cheese or, better still, a smidgen of crumbly goat's feta.

Cynthia said...

Send me some of the dish when you're finished cooking :)

Lucy said...

Cynthia - I'll label it express!

Christina said...

Yum. I love the little baby white turnips. I'm still trying to convince my man that they're good food, but as for me, I'm think they're marvelous. Great recipe idea.

I also enjoyed the simple, poetic nature of this post.

Lucy said...

Thanks Christina, hope you manage to win him over one day. Baby ones are so much easier to like than those monsters at the end of the season.

There is something quite lovely about the suggestion of a recipe or a collection of ingredients that I find compelling.