Ms. Glaze's Pommes d'Amour

Turnip Ginger Soup with Greens & Ham

Thanksgiving soups are erring on the butternut squash side this season. I thought it might be nice to try something different...

Ginger and turnips are magical together. Trust me on this one. (I can see your shaking your head in disbelief.) This interesting combination came from work, where we make a ginger-turnip foam that is served alongside a sake sauce for our monk fish plate. 

I find myself tasting the foam over and over throughout the day. And finally the idea hit: why not just make it into a soup at home and slurp it up at leisure! 

This soup has lots of enticing layers; it's earthy, sweet, spicy, smokey, and a little bitter with the greens. 

The recipe is simple and can be made the day before. Just add the garnishes before serving. If turnip greens happen to come along with the turnips (they didn't for me) use those in place of the bitter greens or add them in. 

Turnip Ginger Soup with Greens & Ham

Serves 4

5 medium turnips, peeled and quartered

1 large nub of fresh ginger, about 4-inches long, peeled and chopped small

5 T butter

10 1/4-inch slices of uncured ham

3 handfuls of stir fry greens: kale, chard, turnip greens, bok choy, whatever

3 T Olive oil

Salt & freshly ground pepper

1. In a medium pot add turnips, butter, and ginger. Cover with water by 1/2-inch. If too much water is added all the flavor of the ginger and turnips will be lost in unused broth when it is puréed. Simmer for 15-20 minutes on medium-high heat until turnips are easily pierced with a knife tip.

2. Purée turnips and ginger in a food processor adding the cooking liquid little by little until the desired consistency is reached. If necessary add a little more water. Season with salt. Transfer to a pot to reheat in.

3. Set oven to 250˚F. Place ham slices on a baking sheet and bake until crisp. About 15 minutes. Reserve.

4. In a large non-stick skillet heat 3 T of olive oil on medium-high heat. When oil shimmers, and is hot add greens in and gently stir. Add 2T of water (and be careful it will sputter) and gently stir some more. When leaves are wilted remove from heat and season with salt.

5. Reheat soup and ladle into bowls. Add greens decoratively, top with ham slices, and give a twist of fresh pepper across the top. 

Lollo Rosso Asian Pear Salad with Persian Lime Pomegranate Vinaigrette

Looking for a pretty holiday salad to set the tone? There is nothing like a sweet, astringent, earthy, nicely seasoned salad to get the salivary glands going. Preferably one where the lettuce is freshly picked and the dressing just a little exotic.

 

Lollo Rosso is my favorite lettuce and it is not always easy to find. Its leaves are frilly and crisp holding vinaigrette within it folds and the flavor richer than most red lettuces.

 

The pomegranate is a fascinating fruit rich in history, symbolism, and packed with flavor. Its juice is naturally sweet-tart easily replacing vinegars or wines in many recipes. 

And the seeds look like jewels. Hard to resist edible rubies...

Lollo Rosso Asian Pear Salad with Persian Lime Pomegranate Vinaigrette recipe:

Serves 4

3 bunches lollo rosso lettuce

1 bunch frisée lettuce, yellow inner leaves only

1 asian pear, sliced paper thin

1 handful of pomegranate seeds to sprinkle

3 T pomegranate juice (POM Wonderful)

2 T champagne vinegar

4 T Stonehouse persian lime olive oil 

2 T extra virgin olive oil

1. Mix vinegar and pomegranate juice together. Then whisk in both olive oils. Season with salt and pepper. Dress lollo rosso with vinaigrette. Then dress frisée & asian pears separately with a little splash of olive oil, champagne vinegar, and salt (so that it doesn't turn pink).

2. Plate lettuces together with pears and sprinkle pomegranate seeds on top. Drizzle pomegranate vinaigrette around plate.

Turnips Fried in Bacon Fat

What do you mean you don't like turnips? The farmer's markets are flooding with them! How can you even walk by the produce aisle without noticing those gorgeous two-tone purple and white bulbs?!?!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My dad would fry turnips for me as a kid. And if it weren't for him, I probably wouldn't be a turnip zealot today. They are not exactly a California staple. But, they are good. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I make a turnip-ginger foam at work and it's my absolute favorite thing to prep. In fact, I take pride in it and look forward to the chef sampling my concoction before service. We also make a turnip foie fat purée that is silky smooth delicious.

The combo of bacon and turnip is like comfort food divine. And with scallions? Oh my God...

Turnips Fried in Bacon Fat Recipe

3 medium size turnips, peeled & sliced 1/2-inch thick

3 thick cut bacon slices, brunoised

4 scallion greens, chiffonaded on the bias

Salt & Pepper

If you have a 3-inch diameter mold, punch the turnip slices out so they are symmetrical in size. If not, don't worry, they will still look and taste delicious. In a non-stick skillet on medium high heat, cook the bacon. When they start to turn brown, carefully remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a plate lined with a paper towel. Reserve the fat.

In the same pan, with the same bacon fat, fry the turnips on medium heat. Do not fry on high heat or the turnips will burn. Cook for 1 minute on each side until tender. Season with salt and pepper. Remove to a plate lined with paper towels. Garnish with a sprinkle of bacon bits and scallions.

Roasted Chicken, Parsnips, & Carrots with Pomegranate Ginger Sauce

The wonderful thing about making a simple meal is that it allows the cook time to focus on one feature. In this case, the sauce. 

Pomegranate juice is reduced almost to a syrup and added to chicken jus, that has been cooked separate from the whole bird, and infused with the aromatics: ginger, onions, and shallots. The result is a rich and tangy complex sauce.

Who would have thought that parsnips and pomegranate go so well together?!?!

The sauce is very more-ish. I devoured half a baguette just mopping up the leftovers. Tiny leaves of marjoram add a piquant garnish. 

Roasted Chicken, Parsnips & Carrots with Pomegranate Ginger Sauce

1 organic chicken, around 4-5lbs

3 shallots, peeled and sliced thin

1 large nub of ginger, about 5-inches long, peeled and chopped

1 small yellow onion, peeled and sliced thin

1/2 cups chicken stock

1 8-fl ounce bottle of Pomegranate juice (POM Wonderful)

2 parsnips, peeled and quartered lengthwise

4 heirloom carrots, peeled and quartered lengthwise

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Fresh marjoram

2T cold butter

Preheat oven to 425˚F

1. Reduce pomegranate juice over medium heat in a small sauce pot to 1/3 cup. It should be thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, but not so thick it resembles molasses. Reserve.

2. Cut the chicken legs with thighs off the bird to use for the sauce (you can reserve for another use after browning). Leave the breasts and wings on the bone to roast whole. Season breasts gererously with salt. Place in roasting pan and cook until juices run clear. Baste it, baby, baste it! About 20 minutes.

3. In another roasting pan place root vegetables tossed with olive oil and seasoned with salt. Cook alongside chicken.

4. In a medium pot sweat ginger, shallots, and onion with 2T of olive oil on medium heat. Add chicken legs and thighs and brown. The more caramelization, the richer the sauce. Seriously, let it get brown and sticky but don't burn! Add chicken stock and scrape up caramelization. Simmer for 5 minutes. Strain. Add to pomegranate juice. Cook sauce down to 1/2 cup.

5. Cut chicken off the bone and plate with root vegetables. Bring sauce up to a boil and shake 2T of butter off the heat. This will give it a little body and gloss. Drizzle around plate. Add a few leaves of marjoram decoratively on veggies and chicken. 

Note to Cook: often canned chicken stock or broth is disgusting and murky. If you don't have time to make your own give Savory Choice Turkey Broth a try. It does have salt, so be careful of adding extra seasoning, but it also has very rich flavor and makes a clear sauce. Whole Foods carries it.

Brandade de Morue Holiday Dip

Perhaps salted cod isn't on the top of your grocery list. But if you were living 400 years ago, it probably would be – that is assuming you could read and write the list to begin with! 

Salting cod during the 17th century was a popular way of preserving. Salt was cheap, it allowed fisherman to make longer voyages preserving their catch along the way, and it was flavorful. 

It has many different names that you will no doubt recognize. In France it is known as 'morue', in Spain 'bacalao', and in Italy 'baccalà'. And each country has their own recipes that have been passed down through the ages transforming the hard white salt covered fillets into something unexpectedly delicious and moist.

Brandade de Morue is an old French recipe (and there are countless variations) consisting of salted cod, garlic, olive oil, milk, and potatoes mashed together. Today in France it is often served during the holidays as a dip alongside bread fried in oil or crudités. 

I say: why wait for the holidays? 

Brandade de Morue Recipe:

8oz of salted cod

4 cups milk

4 medium yukon gold potatoes

1 cup olive oil

7 whole cloves of garlic peeled

Bouquet garni: 2 sprigs fresh thyme, 1 sprig rosemary

1. Soak salted cod in cold water, changing water frequently, according to box instructions. Sometimes this is overnight or just a few hours.  Cod will be malleable and have a pleasantly salty taste when it is ready to use. If it is still pungent, hard, or overly salty continue to soak in cold water

2. Cook potatoes as you would for mashed potatoes: place spuds in a large pot with cold water and bring up to a gentle simmer. When they are easily pierced with a knife, peel skin off and place in a Food Processor or blender.

3. Heat milk to a simmer with bouquet garni. Add cod, cut into 3"- 4" pieces (make sure there is no skin or bones) and cook for 10 minutes. Do not boil or it will make the cod tough. 

4. In a small saucepot bring olive oil with garlic to a low simmer on low heat and confit cloves. They are done when easily pierced with a knife. 

5. In a food prosessor add cod, potatoes, garlic, and 1/2 cup olive oil and pulse. Blend in a cup of the milk from the cooking liquid (minus bouquet garni). The mixture should resemble a thick paste. Continue to add olive oil and milk little by little until mixture has a nice dip consistency. 

6. Spoon into ramekins and reheat in oven before serving. To brown the top put under the broiler. Serve with crostini and crunchy garden fresh vegtables. Can be made a week ahead.