Mess O’ Greens with Turnip-Parsnip Puree

Looking for a satisfying but lighter dish to cook between the Thanksgiving feast and the coming rich holiday meals? Try this vitamin-packed mess o’ greens on top of a velvety turnip-parsnip puree. Particularly great with homegrown organic vegetables, but wherever they’re sourced, be sure your ingredients are fresh.

 

Ingredients

 

From the Garden:

4 large bunches of braising greens (kale, collards, Swiss chard, beet greens, broccoli leaves or turnip greens) chopped

4 large turnips, peeled and cubed

4 large parsnips, peeled and cubed

4-6 cloves garlic, minced

3 sprigs rosemary, stripped and chopped

6 sprigs thyme, leaves stripped

5 leaves sage, chopped

 

From the Pantry

¼ cup water

1 stick grass-fed salted butter

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

2 cups cream

2 tablespoon light olive oil

juice of 1 lemon

Kosher salt and black pepper

 

Preparation 

Puree

In a medium sized pot, sauté the turnips, parsnips and spices in the butter on medium-low heat.  Once they are soft all the way through, add the cream and water and blend with a hand blender.  Simmer for a few minutes to fully warm the mixture, then remove from the heat and cover to keep it warm until serving.

Greens

In a large soup pot over medium low heat, saute the garlic in olive oil just until fragrant. Add the water and as much of the greens as will fit in the pot.  Cover the pot tightly, and let the greens steam for a couple minutes until they have wilted enough to make room for more greens.  Mix them before adding more to allow any uncooked greens on top to move to the bottom of the pot.  Pack the pot with the remaining greens and cover again.  Once all the greens have all wilted, remove the pot from the heat to slow the cooking since over-cooking them will reduce the nutrient content of the greens.  Add the balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper and stir to incorporate.

Serve the greens on top of the purée and encourage eaters to mix the two together.

MAKES 3-4 SERVINGS