(recipe from the book Local Flavors used with permission of the author, Deborah Madison)
Serves 2 – 4.
4 slender leeks, including a little of the pale green, or 1 bunch scallions
6 carrots, yellow and/or orange, 3 to 4 inches long
12 little turnips with their greens
1 bunch radishes-pink, red, or purple, with ½ inch of their stems
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pound fava beans, if available, shucked
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped tarragon
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- Slice the leeks crosswise about ¼ inch wide, then rinse them in a bowl of
water and drain. Cut all but ½ inch of the carrot greens off, peel the carrots, and
slice them in half lengthwise. Leave ½ inch of the turnip greens attached. Peel
with a paring knife up to the shoulders. Leave smaller ones whole and cut larger
ones into halves or quarters. Halve the radishes lengthwise; soak them briefly in
a bowl of water, then rinse, especially the stems. - Bring 6 cups water to a boil and add 1 ½ teaspoons salt. Blanch the carrots, turnips, and radishes for 7 minutes, then scoop out and set aside. Drop the fava beans into the water for 1 minute, and then scoop them out, saving the cooking water, and rinse to cool. Pop them out of their skins.
- Melt half the butter in a 8 or 10 inch sauté pan. Add the leeks and cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently, Add ½ cup of the vegetable cooking water, the blanched vegetables, half the herbs, and ½ teaspoon salt. Simmer until the vegetables are fully tender, 10 to 15 minutes, adding water in
1/3 cup increments so that the pan doesn’t dry out. There should be a little
sauce. - Add the fava beans, remaining butter, and lemon juice Raise the heat and
swirl the pan back and forth until the butter has melted into the juice. Remove
from the heat, add the rest of the herbs, season with pepper, and serve. If you’ve
made the dumplings, add them during the last 5 minutes so that they’ll heat
through.
I’m a fan of neither turnips nor radishes, but I had a bunch of each plus a spring onion from my CSA, so this recipe was perfect. I used the onion and its greens instead of the leeks, skipped the favas, and substituted chicken broth for some of the blanching water. I forgot the second addition of butter, herbs, and lemon juice, but the chicken broth made up for it. Delicious.
just made this tonight, very good! i didn’t have fava beans or parsley or tarragon, so i substituted herbs i had instead. i added some yellow and green onion when i cooked the leeks. and a little more butter than the recipe calls for. 😉