Recipe: HAKUREI TURNIP FRY

Nom Nom Nom...doesn't that look delish!

INGREDIENTS

4 baby hakurei turnips, quartered  (URG, 0 miles, FREE!)
1 small head golden bok choy, thick stems removed (URG, 0 miles, FREE!)
1 Tbsp fresh wild baby amaranth leaves (URG, 0 miles, FREE!)
2 small cloves garlic (URG, 0 miles, FREE!)
2 Tbsp Nancy's Naturally Vitality Dressing (Urban Harvest Farmer's Market, 50 mi., $1.00)
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil for frying

Total Food Miles: 50
Total Cost: $1



This is a spectacular dish that I created using fresh harvested veggies from the farm.  I harvested the turnips, bok choy, and amaranth myself, and pulled a few garlic cloves from a stash that had been harvest a few weeks previous.  The dressing is Nancy's Naturally Vitality Dressing, a delicious shoyu based dressing with oil that features ginger, garlic, and dill among other herbs and spices in its flavor profile.  If you have a favorite marinade or asian dressing that you like I recommend using it as a substitute for Nancy's Dressing as I do not believe that you can find it outside of Houston.

What makes this recipe particularly fantastic are the flavors and the colors.  The hakurei turnip is the feature of the dish, which is a Japanese variety of turnip that is particularly succulent and chalk full of flavor.  It is the only turnip that I eat raw, and it does not need to be boiled before pan frying.  The golden bok choi is an extremely delicate green that will melt in your mouth like butter and the amaranth adds a lovely ruby red the the dish and a subtle hint of flavor.

DIRECTIONS

To make the dish, heat a Tbsp of olive oil in a pan over medium heat.  Pan fry garlic until golden, about a minute.  Strain out garlic chunks, reserving oil, and return oil to pan over medium heat.  Add turnips to pan and fry until crisp tender, about 5 minutes.  Return fried garlic to pan, add dressing and stir to coat.  Dressing should caramelize almost immediately.  Once caramelized, add bok choi and amaranth, tossing in with turnips...add a bit more dressing to coat the leaves and cover over medium low heat for 1 minutes.  Remove lid, leaves should be wilted but not soggy.  Add sea salt and pepper to taste then serve!

Peace, love, and happy eating!

-d