Parmesan Turnip Soup

TURNIPS!! These are a vegetable I have just recently gotten into. This past winter, I found myself in a vegetable rut and decided to broaden my horizons. I first used turnips in a pot roast and was immediately a fan.

I've noticed an increasing number of
grocery stores who sell Parmesan rinds if you
don't have any on hand.

I've found that turnips can really be used in almost the exact same ways you can use other root vegetables, such as potatoes. However, unlike potatoes, these suckers have a bitter bite.

At my last visit to my farmer's market, my favorite vegetable vendor had great looking turnips and I picked up a container. After getting home and surveying my fridge, I discovered I had lots odds and ends leftover from the previous week and decided the best way to use up everything would be a soup.

Wanting to add some greens, I headed to the store with the original intention of buying spinach, but made a last minute decision to go with turnip greens instead as I had never cooked with them before and thought it might add to the turnipness of the soup.

Make sure the greens are well
rinsed to avoid any grit in the soup.

The real key to this soup is letting it sit so the flavors have time to stand out. When I first took the pot of the burner, the soup tasted rather bland, like it was missing something I couldn't quite put my finger on.

However, after sitting for about an hour the flavors began to come together and stand out, especially the nutty, saltiness of the Parmesan rinds. This is definitely one of those soups that gets better the next day. Also, bacon would be really good in this soup, I just didn't have any on hand.

Of note, the addition of turnip greens does give the soup a distinct flavor which some might find too harsh.

Swapping spinach for the turnip greens would mellow the bitter bite turnips can sometimes have...

Parmesan Turnip Soup

Serves 5

• 5 large turnips, scrubbed and diced
• 1 lb. turnip greens, rinsed and cut into strips
• 1/2 lb. ground turkey
• 1 large leek, rinsed and chopped
• 2 large shallots, rinsed and chopped
• 32 oz. chicken stock
• 14.5 oz. vegetable stock
• 3 Parmesan rinds
• 1 tbs. parsley flakes
• 2 tps. chili flakes
• 2 bay leaves
• salt
• pepper
• olive oil

1. Heat olive oil in large pot over medium heat. Brown turkey and remove from pan. Add leeks and shallots and saute for 7 minutes until softened. Add turnips and saute for another 5 minutes.

2. Add parsley, chili flakes, salt, pepper, bay leaves, Parmesan rinds and browned turkey to the pot. Pour in the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Let cook for one hour, stirring occasionally, until the turnips are tender.

3. Turn off heat and stir in the turnip greens. Cover the pot and let the soup sit for at least 15 minutes, giving the greens time to wilt.