By The election happened and then the election kept happening. Days of counting, a different kind of suspended state — not the sharp anxiety of before but something more prolonged, more procedural. Vermont was not in doubt; Vermont is rarely in doubt. I watched from here as things resolved slowly and then resolved. That's all I'll say about it. There are enough voices for the rest of it.
I made soup. That is what I do when I need to do something with my hands and my attention. This week it was a big pot of white bean and kale — hearty, deeply flavored from long cooking, the kind of thing that lasts four days and gets better each time. The kale from the garden has sweetened with frost exactly as promised. It's extraordinary stuff at this point in the season, those dark crinkled leaves with a depth of flavor you don't get in summer.
I've been thinking about Thanksgiving. Normally it would be at Sarah's house in Connecticut, or here, alternating years. This year I don't know. The numbers are getting bad again nationally. Vermont is still managing but the border is porous in the way that borders always are. Sarah and I have been talking about it carefully, which is itself different from any year before — you don't usually need to carefully negotiate Thanksgiving.
What I know is this: I've been alone for most of the year and I've been fine. If the safe thing is to be alone for Thanksgiving I can do that. But I'd rather not. Some things lose their meaning without the people around them, and a Thanksgiving table is one of those things.
The white bean and kale soup I described above has been the anchor of the week, but the thing I keep coming back to alongside it — simpler, faster, barely a recipe at all — is this preparation of turnips with their greens. The frost has done its work on both crops equally, and what you get from the garden right now has a sweetness and depth that makes a plain skillet feel like something worth sitting down to. When the news is procedural and the waiting is long, there’s comfort in food that asks almost nothing of you and gives back more than it should.
Truly Tasty Turnips With Greens
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs turnips (about 4 medium), peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
- 1 large bunch turnip greens or mixed hearty greens, stems trimmed, leaves roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup vegetable or chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Sauté the aromatics. Heat olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly golden, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
- Cook the turnips. Add the cubed turnips to the skillet and stir to coat in the oil. Season generously with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the turnips begin to color at the edges, about 8 minutes.
- Add liquid and braise. Pour in the broth, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cover and cook until the turnips are just tender when pierced with a fork, about 8 minutes.
- Wilt the greens. Uncover and add the chopped greens in two or three batches, stirring each addition until wilted before adding the next. Once all greens are wilted and most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 4 minutes, remove from heat.
- Finish and serve. Drizzle the apple cider vinegar over the pan and toss to combine. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Serve warm as a side dish alongside soup, roasted meats, or simply on its own with crusty bread.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 115 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 7g | Carbs: 12g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 210mg