And so it
continues: in spite of a few recent less-than-successful attempts to make new
vegetable friends, I picked up another unfamiliar specimen at the grocery store
last week. Its German name was completely unknown to me, and to be honest, even
if I’d had a translation dictionary along, I still would have had an “Aha!
That’s what that thing looks like” moment. It was large and dense, hard, like a
beet or a potato – with a peel that varied from a fleshy peach hue to light violet.
It was a
rutabaga.
I had never
seen a rutabaga, I’d never eaten one, so I was very excited to make its
acquaintance.
After
staring it down for a week, the time had come to turn it into a meal.
I peeled it
and chopped it open in half to find that it contained a pit in the center
(something like a squash) which I removed (as though coring an apple).
“What is
that?”
To show my
wife that I wasn’t afraid of foreign vegetables, despite my recent run-in with
the puntarelle, I popped a raw piece into my mouth. Thankfully, I found it to
be slightly sweet – much like a parsnip.
“It was
called a Steckrübe,” I answered, sort
of hoping she wouldn’t notice that I actually had no idea, either.
“I’m pretty
sure those are only used for animal food.”
“Well, it
was in the grocery store.”
I realized,
in retrospect, that one can also find dog food at the grocery store. So in that
moment, I decided to make a theme dinner – I was going to sauté this animal
feed and serve it with millet (most commonly marketed in the U.S. as bird
seed). We were going to eat what animals eat instead of eating animals.
I happened
to also have one parsnip at my disposal, which worked out quite well, as I’d
already determined from my taste test that rutabaga and parsnip would make a
good couple. I cut into round slices. As for the rutabaga, I chopped it into
bite-sized pieces.
I minced a
clove of garlic and sliced one small white onion, which I combined in a skillet
with a tablespoon of fresh chives and two teaspoons of fresh parsley and some
black pepper. And then I decided to really take it up a notch and add a half
cup of corn – I grew up watching my grandfather feed his flock, and I know good
and well that sheep are fond of corn. Me too. I heated it on medium-high,
stirring frequently. After everything had become fragrant (about two minutes) I
added the rutabaga and parsnip. I wanted for everything to get a little dark
and for the corn to char a bit, so I put the lid on and left it alone for a few
minutes, until the corn kernels started to pop around in the skillet. I then
removed the lid again, added a tablespoon of water, and steamed everything for
another five minutes, until the vegetables were just fork tender, but not
mushy. To finish it off, I added a cup of green beans and allowed them to heat
through.
I served
our vegetables with millet – an underappreciated grain that loves to absorb
flavor. Although it closely resembles couscous, it is a larger grain and is
pleasantly chewy. I like to cook mine in a 1:2 ratio of millet to vegetable broth.
Millet should be brought with the liquid to a boil and cooked for fifteen
minutes, then allowed to cool down and absorb any remaining liquid. It can then
be fluffed with a fork and served.
tin and I
found this meal to be particularly savory, and especially delightful when
accompanied by a glass of wine. And as for the friendship verdict? -- I’ve
officially added the rutabaga to my list of vegetables that will always be
welcome in my kitchen.
_________________________________________________________________________________
The
Nitty-Gritty:
Ingredients:
One clove
of garlic
One small
white onion
Two
tablespoons of fresh chives
Two
teaspoons of fresh parsley
Black
pepper
One parsnip
Rutabaga
(about two cups chopped)
One cup
green beans
One-half
cup corn
Millet (one
cup dry for two servings)
Vegetable broth
(two cups for two servings of millet)
Procedure.
1. Combine
one cup of dry millet and two cups of vegetable broth in a small cooking pot.
Bring to a boil, then cook on medium-low heat for fifteen minutes. Turn off the
heat and allow the millet to absorb any remaining liquid.
2. Mince
one clove of garlic and slice a small white onion. Combine in a skillet with
chives, parsley, black pepper. Heat on medium-high until fragrant (about two
minutes).
3. Chop
rutabaga into bite-sized pieces; slice parsnip into quarter-inch rounds – add to
the skillet along with a half cup of corn. Continue to heat on medium-high,
covered, until corn begins to char and pop (about three minutes).
4. Add a
tablespoon of water to the skillet and the green beans; cover, and steam for five minutes – until vegetables
are fork-tender.
5. Fluff
the cooked millet with a fork and serve in bowls with a scoop of vegetables, and
salt & pepper to taste.
No comments:
Post a Comment