August 10, 2010
· Filed under Autumn, Dish Type, Side/Salad, Spring, Summer, Winter · Tagged turnips
Posted by Lisa
Pan-Fried Turnips
Turnips are another under-appreciated vegetable, I think. They really aren’t all that common in American kitchens. I’ve made turnips in quite a few different dishes, from stews and sautées to sliced onto lettuce-based salads and starring in a turnip slaw. Out of all the preparations I’ve tried, the one we love most and, incidentally, the one I prepare most frequently is pan-fried turnips. The simplicity of this dish makes it perfect for a busy evening, but the taste is outstanding. Almost browning the butter in the sauté pan before adding the turnip wedges imparts a slightly nutty and smooth flavor, while the caramelized edges of the turnips are sweet and tender and some of the centers are just faintly bitter, but not unpleasantly so. The whole pan of turnips is always eaten up when I prepare this side dish and it’s enjoyed by even our pickiest eater.
Pan-Fried Turnips
printable recipe
- two bunches of turnips (or about 1 1/2 pounds loose turnips)
- 2-3 tablespoons butter
- sea salt
Wash and trim the ends from the turnips. Cut into wedges. I cut smaller turnips into quarters and larger into 1/8′s or 1/12th’s. Heat a heavy bottomed sauté pan (I always use my enameled cast iron pan) over medium-high heat. When pan is hot, add enough butter to coat the bottom of the pan when it is melted. Right before butter starts to brown, add turnip wedges. Continue to cook on medium-high heat, stirring frequently to prevent burning. You want the cut edges to brown nicely, but they can also start to burn pretty quickly. When the turnips are nicely browned, reduce heat to low and continue to cook until they are tender all the way through. When the turnips are tender, remove from heat and season to taste with sea salt.
July 12, 2010
· Filed under Side/Salad, Spring, Summer · Tagged mint, onions, peas, radishes
Posted by Lisa
Pea and Radish Salad
When I first saw this recipe, I didn’t really appeal to me, but when I got a nice bunch of French breakfast radishes at the market and I wanted to do something different with them, I decided to try it. I started out with this recipe, by Cathy at Wives with Knives and altered it for what I had on hand. I wish I had fresh peas on hand because that would have made it spectacular, but even with using frozen peas, it was a cool and tasty salad. The mint really tastes fantastic with the sweetness of the peas and the little bite of the radishes.
One note, I always make my own mayonnaise with with a combination of coconut oil and olive oil, so if you use a store bought mayonnaise or even a homemade mayonnaise without coconut oil, yours will likely have a creamier texture than mine. The coconut oil in the mayonnaise sets up a little more firmly when it’s cold. Though it’s not as beautiful as a creamier mayonnaise, the flavor was still excellent.
Pea and Radish Salad
printable recipe
- 3 cups frozen peas, thawed (If you have fresh peas, blanch them and use them, the flavor will be even better than frozen peas, of course!)
- 1 bunch of radishes, thinly sliced
- 1/2 small spring onion, finely chopped
- 1 – 2 teaspoons freshly chopped mint leaves
- 1 – 2 teaspoons freshly chopped chives
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 - 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix gently to combine. Taste and adjust salt and pepper to your preference.
June 1, 2010
· Filed under Side/Salad, Spring, This and That · Tagged onion, parsley, radishes, salsa
While we bear through a pretty wet and cool spring here in the Willamette Valley, waiting for both the warm sun to come and stay for good as well as the vegetables such weather brings, we try to stay positive by focusing on things like not having to irrigate yet and the plethora of delicious, well growing spring veggies we get to enjoy. On our tables, we see sweet, tender lettuces at almost every meal; and either mixed with those lettuces, or used in dishes where they stand on their own, we also see a lot of radishes. The radish is both highly prized by some–we really can’t bring enough of these to sell at our Thursday Farmer’s Market–and much maligned by others. In some ways, they can be so mild flavored, especially when store bought, that aside from their crunch and color, they offer little to the palette. But when grown well, they have a great flavor that tastes just like spring to us.
We have been out of our summer preserved salsa for about a month or so now, which isn’t too bad considering tomatoes really will be ready in just a couple of months. We use most of our salsa on morning eggs, but have begun to have tacos a bit more frequently after once again becoming more strict about being gluten free; we use taco night now to replace pizza night. We don’t mind tacos without salsa, but last week I was in a hurry getting things ready, so our tacos were going to the table with no sauteed onions or dark leafy greens, and I needed something to add to the slow-cooked beans to really make the meal. I know I have made radish salsas before, but this one was especially good. I think that I enjoyed it more finely processed in the food processor where normally I hand chop it and make it a bit more chuncky. It was riduculously easy and fast and really, really delicious with the tacos. We had the leftovers with fish the next night, it was perfect. Since I have a glut of radishes over here, I think I will even make a big batch and ferment it…I am really excited for that. Either way, fresh is where it is at in spring, and radishes abound. With dishes like this, waiting for the summer and its fruits doesn’t seem so bad.
Radish Salsa Fresca
- 1 bunch radishes
- 1 small spring onion OR 3-4 green onions OR 2 spring green garlic bulbs
- handful parsley sprigs
- juice of half a lemon
- sea or kosher salt to taste
- pinch cayenne
- pinch ground coriander
Mix all ingredients in food processor until chopped and blended, but do not over-process as this will release excess liquid from the radishes. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Enjoy!
May 30, 2010
· Filed under Baked Goods, Spring · Tagged blueberries, rhubarb, scones
Gingery Rhubarb and Blueberry Scones
It’s rhubarb season! Before last year I had never eaten rhubarb and I still don’t have extensive experience with baking and cooking rhubarb, but the things I have made have made me a rhubarb fan.
We’ve still got blueberries in the freezer from last summer and I decided to combine them with the three stalks of rhubarb I had on hand. These have a pretty strong gingery kick, so if you don’t like ginger leave it out or cut it down significantly. These scones are also not very sweet, but that is a good thing in my opinion, especially if you are having them for breakfast. Increase the sugar if you like scones with a noticeable sweetness. These scones are very moist and cakey; they don’t have a drier crumb like many scones do.
Gingery Rhubarb and Blueberry Scones
printable recipe
- 3 stalks rhubarb, diced
- 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar (I use sucanat)
- 4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons powdered ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup frozen blueberries
- 3/4 cup butter, cut into slices or small pieces
- 1 3/4 cups whole milk
- 1 egg yolk
- sugar for the tops
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Combine rhubarb, grated ginger and 2 tablespoons sugar in a small bowl. In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, powdered ginger, salt and 1/2 cup sugar. Cut butter into dry ingredients until the whole mixture is crumbly with no large chunks of butter. Gently stir rhubarb mixture and frozen blueberries into this mixture. Add milk and only mix enough to form a loose dough. Turn dough onto a floured board and divide in half. Take one half and roll dough into a 1/2″ thick circle and cut into six pieces. Place pieces on baking sheet or cast iron griddle.* Repeat with other half of dough. Mix egg yolk with one tablespoon of water and brush onto scones. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 22 minutes or until golden.
*I don’t have any stoneware and I find that cast iron skillets or griddles are generally acceptable substitutes. I like to bake scones and biscuits on cast iron because of the nice golden crust that develops on the bottom of the baked good.
