Cooking With This Week's Box
Green Garlic:
Potato Onions:
Asparagus:
Baby Spinach:
Rhubarb:
Salad Mix:
Purpella Radishes:
Hon Tsai Tai:
Baby White Turnips:
Vegetarian Carbonara with Baby White Turnips & Greens (See Below)
Baby Bok Choi:
Mini Romaine
Head Lettuce:
Welcome to another week of Cooking With the Box! This
week our focus is still on looking for more ways to utilize greens, especially
the greens on this week’s baby white turnips.
This week’s featured recipe for Vegetarian Carbonara with Baby White Turnips & Greens is a vegetarian take on the traditional Italian
pasta dish called Carbonara. Carbonara
is a pasta dish that utilized beaten eggs and cheese along with lemon juice to
create a sauce that lightly coats pasta.
Traditionally it also includes some type of cured meat such as pancetta
or bacon, which adds significant richness to the dish. While I really like traditional carbonara, I
feel like it can be a very heavy dish.
This is why I was intrigued by the bacon-free version I came across at
alexandracooks.com. I used her base
recipe and adapted the recipe to include turnips, mushrooms, and smoked
paprika. I like to use smoked paprika in
dishes where I want a little bit of smoky richness without using smoked pork
products. If you have greens building up
in your refrigerator or if you are not sure what to do with the tops on the
turnips and radishes, this is a great recipe.
You’ll turn a big pile of greens into hardly anything!
We’re excited to welcome rhubarb into our spring line up
this week! While it’s most commonly used
to make rhubarb pie, it can be used in a whole host of other applications, both
savory and sweet. In addition to the
lentil dish I provided a link for, rhubarb can also be used in stir-frys,
barbecue sauce and so much more! You’ll
find some of these types of recipes if you visit our searchable recipe database. Rhubarb is also an easy vegetable to
preserve, so if you aren’t in the mood to use it this week, consider checking
out the link for how to freeze it.
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| Cannellini Beans with Spinach photo by Eva Kolenko for epicurious.com |
We continue this week with our greens-rich
selections. If you didn’t have a chance
to read last week’s article entitled “It’s Time To Eat Your Greens!” I would encourage you to do so this week.
Greens are packed with nutrients and give us energy and vitality. In this article I share some tips and tricks
for how you can include them in your meals and diet. Last week we also featured a simple recipe
for Greens & Green Garlic Pesto
that we used to make a pasta dish. This
base pesto is very tasty, especially the second day. Last week I used it throughout the week as a
spread on our sandwiches for lunch, in scrambled eggs for breakfast, and just
spread on crackers!
I hope you enjoy another tasty week of spring
cooking. It won’t be long before we
start moving into some of our late spring/early summer selections. Last Sunday we picked the first (and only)
slightly pink strawberry. Depending upon
the weather, there’s a chance we’ll be picking strawberries within the next
week or two. We also have our eye on
more head lettuce, cilantro, garlic scapes and spring scallions. If you have not yet joined our private CSA Facebook Group, I encourage you to do so now! So far this year there have been some
excellent posts with great ideas for recipes and how to use all the items in
the box. It’s also a great place to ask
questions and get input on recipes and cooking ideas.
Ok, that’s a wrap for this week! Have a good week and I’ll see you again
soon!---Chef Andrea
Vegetable Feature: Baby White Turnips
By: Chef Andrea Yoder
Description: Baby white turnips are a classy little vegetable we often describe as being “pristine.” They are classified as a salad turnip and are tender with a sweet, mild flavor. Both the roots and the green tops are edible and may be eaten raw or lightly cooked. Compared to the common purple top turnip or other storage turnips we grow in the fall, salad turnips are much more mild and subtle in both flavor and texture. So if you think you don’t like turnips, at least give these a try!Preparation & Use: To prepare baby white turnips for use, separate the roots from the greens and wash both well to remove any dirt. Salad turnips have such a thin exterior layer, they do not need to be peeled. They are delicious eaten raw in a salad, or just munch on them with dip or hummus. You can also cook these turnips, but remember to keep the cooking time short as it doesn’t take much to cook them to fork tender. You can simply sauté them in butter, stir-fry or roast them. The greens may be added to raw salads, or lightly sauté or wilt them in a little butter.
Storage: To prolong the shelf life, separate the greens from the roots with a knife and store separately in plastic bags in your refrigerator.
Growing Information: We plant baby white turnips for harvest early in the spring and again in the fall when the growing conditions are cooler. We harvest them while they are still small and tender, when the sweet flavor matches their delicate appearance. The other turnips we grow in the fall are meant for storage purposes and have a thicker skin compared to the thin skin of a salad turnip. Baby white turnips also mature much faster than beets, carrots and fennel, etc. so they are a very important part of our spring menus until the other root vegetables are ready for harvest.
Vegetarian Carbonara with Baby White Turnips & Greens
Yield: 4 servings12 ounces pasta (fettucine, papparadelle, linguini, or any small pasta that holds sauce well)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 ½ cups baby white turnips, medium dice
1 ½ cups cremini or white button mushrooms, medium dice
½ cup thinly sliced green garlic
½ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
½ tsp smoked paprika
8-10 cups greens, roughly chopped*
1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 large eggs
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
1-2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste
- Boil a large pot of salted water and cook pasta to al dente according to package instructions. When the pasta is cooked, remove 1 cup of the pasta water and set it aside before you drain the pasta.
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the turnips, mushrooms and green garlic. Sauté for 5-7 minutes or until the vegetables are tender but not completely cooked. Add the red pepper flakes and smoked paprika. Stir to combine and sauté an additional 30 seconds.
- Add the chopped greens to the pan and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Continue to cook over medium to medium-high heat until the greens wilt down. Use tongs to flip the greens around periodically to help them wilt.
- While the greens are cooking down, prepare the carbonara sauce. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs, then whisk in the parmesan and 1 Tbsp lemon juice. Slowly whisk in ¼ cup of the reserved pasta water.
- Once the greens are wilted down, reduce the heat to low and add the drained pasta to the pan. It’s important to reduce the heat before adding the egg mixture. If the pan is too hot the eggs will scramble instead of making a nice, smooth sauce.
- Pour the egg mixture over the pasta and vegetable mixture. Stir to combine and simmer, stirring frequently for 5-7 minutes or until the eggs and cheese have formed a light sauce that evenly coats the pasta. Taste and adjust the seasoning with additional lemon juice, salt and freshly ground black pepper. You may also wish to add a little more pasta cooking liquid if the sauce seems too “tight” or thick.
- Once seasoned to your liking, serve warm with grated Parmesan as desired.
Recipe based on “Weeknight Carbonara: No Bacon, Loaded with Greens” from alexandracooks.com.
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