Hungry Mouth

What's wrong with turnips?

Most people hate turnips. I think I know why. For many of the "older" generations, turnips are associated with WWII. During the war turnips or rutabagas, a close relative but with yellow flesh, were a main stay of the diet in Europe. (Prior to the war rutabagas were considered animal fodder.) This left negative associations which were handed down to their children.

Also, overcooked turnips may exude a strong odor into the house (though not foul like overcooked broccoli or cabbage).

Despite that, I adore turnips. One of my favorite vegetables. So I was thrilled when my farm box yesterday included a bunch of baby turnips with greens attached. By baby I mean about 2-3 inches in diameter and the skin was still soft, not mini chi-chi. I decided to cook the greens and roots together as the Greeks do with beets (see earlier entry) though in a different fashion. This is a recipe that takes less than 5 minutes prep time!

1 bunch baby turnips with greens
3 slices bacon, diced (EVOO would work too)
1 onion diced
S & P

Separate turnips from greens. Wash greens well, remove tough stems (I broke a half inch off the stems and peeled them upwards which removed any stringiness). Slice stems into 1/4 inch pieces and leaves into one inch pieces. Set aside.

Start bacon frying.

Scrub turnip roots, no need to peel. Slice into small bite-sized pieces.

Add onion to bacon and cook til transclucent. Bacon should be cooked but not overly crisp. Add turnip roots. Saute for about 10 minutes til roots are lightly browned on both sides and tender. Add greens. Stir til greens are beginning to wilt. Cover for a few minutes til greens are tender. Add S & P to taste and serve

Oh, the baby turnips were delicious raw. I couldn't stop munching on them. If you have turnip haters in the house...slice up some baby turnips and feed them. Tell them it's jicama. They will be converted.

My favorite non-baby turnip recipe is from Julia Child's "The Art of French Cooking, Vol. 1". Casserole roasted pork with turnips and cabbage. I use a pork butt and, OMG, it is truly a heavenly peasant feast.

Eat your Greek vegies...

This is an example of a vegetable platter meze (appetizer) we were served in a small taverna in Sigri, a small fishing village on Lesvos. Each vegie was cooked separately and then marinated in an appropriate dressing. Tasted as good as it looks. (This was the same place I had the octopus salad pictured previously).

As in many Greek tavernas, there was no menu. The server simply took us to the kitchen and showed us the food. Sometimes we actually looked into the cooking pots. In this case, they had a refrigerated case with the food on display.

I ordered fried small fish for my lunch.

The Judge had veal stew.

We sat on the patio.

The taverna owners were proud to tell us that they were among the 200 people who remained in the village each winter. Many people fled the rough weather. I was shocked at how low the population was given that Sigri is one of the major cities on Lesvos.

By the way, all that food plus wine cost about $20...one of the more expensive meals we had in Greece!

No such thing as a bad tomato...(in Greece)

Well, I won't apologize for the fact I am enthralled with Greek food. One dish we ordered everyday was Greek Salad. Sounds like a tourist dish but the Greeks were ordering it, too. I am not surprised considering that in April the tomatoes were excellent. How can that be? Where do their tomatoes come from?

A Greek Salad in Greece does not include lettuce ever. Here is how it was composed:

2 parts tomato wedges
1 part cucumber chunks
1/4 part red onion slices
1/4 part green bell pepper slices (optional)
a handful of black kalamata olives
one giant slice of feta that was marinated in oil and oregano
a splash of olive oil
(I like to add a squeeze of lemon but Greeks don't)

That's it. Addictive. The cukes were Persian though probably grown in Greece, but I can't explain the high quality of tomatoes in what should have been the off season. Makes me even more irritated with the state of produce in America. Sigh...

The title of this post comes from a Brit we met who has spent years off and on in Greece. We did score some Greek tomato seeds...we are planting this summer.

Beets

I am still on a Greek trip in my head. But I have an excuse...the food was delicious. For the most part we ate inexpensive food and it blew American fast food away. It blew American middle level food away. Everywhere in Greece the food was impeccably fresh, perfectly cooked and beautifully served. The mezes served at every taverna were particularly notable.

So let's talk beets.* Greeks have a wonderful way with beets. They serve them with their own greens. Let me add that my sweetheart who despised beets was completely converted. If all you have tasted are canned beets this will open a new world for you. Here is my attempt to recreate a typical taverna Greek beet dish.

1 red onion, halved and sliced
1 juicy lemon
1 t Greek oregano
1 bunch of fairly young beets (2-3 inches or less in diameter) with greens
EVOO
S & P

Marinate the onion with the juice of lemon and oregano.

Scrub and top the beets leaving an inch of green...leave the tail intact (this keeps the juice from leaking). Line a baking pan ( a metal loaf pan works well) with tin foil and place beets in one layer. Cover pan tightly with foil and roast beets til done in 400 oven...1-2 hours depending on size. Test with a skewer to make sure they are tender throughout. Let cool for a a few minutes then remove ends and peel (I use rubber gloves so I can handle them while quite warm and avoid staining my hands). Slice.

Meanwhile wash greens and remove tough stems and icky leaves. Chop roughly. When ready to peel beets, throw greens into a saute pan with a splash of water and cook til wilted/tender which should only take a couple minutes. Drain in a colander and press out excess water. Chop into smaller pieces. Immediately toss with warm beets, EVOO, onions and S & P to taste. Serve with a lemon slice. This is great warm or at room temp, as well as the next day.

*Apologies to my friend, Pim.

Fava

After 3 weeks in Greece, it remains a mystery to me why the Greek dish called "Fava" is not based on fava beans. I adore fava beans and was excited to order it the first time we saw it on the menu in a tiny beach town taverna on the north coast of Lesvos. We were served a plate of mashed beans..delicious but bright yellow in color. Huh? What did they do to fava beans to make them bright yellow? Well, I had not done my research. A couple days later reading through my notes on Greek food I saw that "Fava" was actually mashed, seasoned yellow split peas.

So as soon as I returned home I had to try to remake Fava. Luckily, I had yellow split peas on hand due to my recent preoccupation with Indian food. Here is my attempt to recreate Greek Fava loosely based on a recipe from Diana Kochilas' interesting book "The Glorious Food of Greece". I recommend this book highly for reading purposes but it is not easy to cook from for me. It's organized by region which means that all the different courses are mixed up. I can't just pick up the book and look in one section for lamb recipes. I prefer books that are organized by course when it comes to cooking. Reading is a different matter, though.

So here is the recipe I made and it was delicious:

EVOO
1 red onion, minced
1 c. yellow split peas
water
Bay leaf
1 t Greek oregano
Red wine vinegar to taste
S & P to taste
chopped scallions

Saute onion in a smallish stockpot in EVOO. Add peas, toss around til coated, then add water to cover peas and bay by about an inch and simmer til done. The idea is to cook the peas til they completely fall apart and absorb all the water so be careful with the water. It will take about 1- 1 1/2 hrs for the peas to totally break down. Stir often and keep a close watch and add more water if needed to prevent sticking. When almost done stir in oregano and S & P. When done add vinegar to taste. Then let sit til cool. Peas will become very thick. Scoop into a shallow bowl. Scatter scallions on top. Serve with warm pita or pita chips to scoop. Opa!