This is a delicious recipe that truly deserves to be tasted before it is judged. I know, I tend to be a bit more adventurous than many my age when it comes to veggies, and I have a lot of work to do to earn converts. But this recipe just may do it. It is savory and complex, with comforting notes of hickory and bacon enhancing the mild flavor of caramelized turnips and chewy toothsome goodness of sauteed garbanzos. I know it will be hard to win everyone over with veggie recipes, but as someone that loves growing my own veggies and who has access to some of the best farm stand produce in the country I must say that those people are missing out. Every good foodie knows that you can't knock something until you have tried it, and tried it the way it was meant to be eaten- In a thoughtfully planned dish with flavors that enhance and not detract, using sound kitchen techniques. If you don't know how to cook something so that it tastes good, don't be afraid to look it up. Find someone that has mastered that thing, and do what they did until you can do it right. If you always try only boiled and steamed veggies, you will probably always find them bland and unpleasant. Just saying. I also love that this recipe has a reduced footprint because it has so little meat in it and so many veggies. I hear so much about why people should go Vegan but so little about making better choices on a daily basis, many small steps at a time. We try to reduce our meat consumption and do some vegetarian or vegan meals, but by attempting to avoid the trap of all or nothing thinking are finding that moving toward healthier choices and kinder decisions is going much better than being on and off the wagon repeatedly. This makes a great meal with very little meat per actual serving, especially if you add additional greens or veggies like I do at the bottom.
To make this delicious recipe, start with a half cup of cubed seasoning bacon, or to taste. Any fatty bacon will do, as would cubed ham hock in a pinch. Begin browning bacon until it just begins to release fat. It should still be raw, but we want enough fat to coat the bottom of the pan. I use a moderate to high heat for this recipe since I am using cast iron.
Take two turnips and prepare them for adding to the pan by slicing them in half through the middle to give a stable base, then cutting long ways.
Dice into rustic pieces, up to a half inch in size. The turnips I used were pretty large and filled a large soup bowl.
Add turnips to the bacon in the pan, and cook together. It will take a while for turnips to brown and the bacon to render. This is a good time to work on preparing the other ingredients. Season generously with salt and pepper. I like to use a little hickory salt if I have it around.
I take turnip greens (and radish greens are good too!) from my garden to use. I always start way to many and instead of thinning when they are young, wait until they are older and cook with them. It seems less wasteful. By the time they are older, they are thinned and with a little care and watering will still produce well.
I recommend using some green onions in this recipe, which I also took right from the garden. Any variety will do, but mine are Egyptian Walking Onions. They are perennials that come back on their own and have a deliciously strong yet inviting taste owing to their heritage as a cross between an onion and shallot. I use them all the time and they require pretty much no care. My kind of plant!
Because they are on the strong side, and because I am also using onions, shallots, and garlic, I only take a few. It may seem like overkill to use four members of the allium family but by using small amounts of each the flavor is not overwhelming and the flavor profile is more balanced and complex.
I like to go ahead and chop everything up and keep it on a plate so it is ready to add at just the right moment. Here you can the the turnip and radish sprouts, green onions, half a white onion, and one small shallot.
You will need about 1 to 1.5 cups cooked garbanzo beans, or one canned drained and rinsed. Wait until the turnips are cooked through and have brown caramelized edges all around because they take a while to cook and the recipe goes fast beyond this point. When they are fully cooked add the garbanzo beans and white onion, and cook until the garbanzo beans are chewy and golden.
It should almost begin to resemble traditional hash at this point. When all of the items are browned and thoroughly cooked we can move on to the final step.
Add in the finely chopped greens, green onions, garlic, and shallots, quickly stirring in and wilting. Do not actually cook for best flavor and texture.
The finished product is ready to eat. To make this a great lunch option that is far lighter on meat, you can add additional greens or other vegetables. It stretched the portions, and with a careful choice can even up the protein content of the dish. This makes several lunches, and will result in taking less meat than taking a salad with chicken breast or tuna sandwich each day.
To add more protein for lunches this week, I added a bag of frozen peas. I barely warm them before turning the stove off since peas so quickly go from sweet and crisp to flavorless mush. It was so good, it was hard not to eat it all today!
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