Matt Caudle is chef de cuisine at Cúrate.
As a chef, the number one reason for buying locally is quality. I’m getting something that’s superior that I can’t get from other commodity vegetables. The variety is really nice. One thing I really like working with is turnips. They’re very plentiful, and farmers here produce them really well. Typically I get them from a variety of sources, but one of those is Ivy Creek Family Farm. They’ve been around for a long time and I appreciate their involvement in the community. Anna Littman, the farmer, is really terrific. I appreciate how hard she works. They’re at the market every week at North Asheville Tailgate Market, and she also helps out at her kids school and in the community. They’ve been a friend to us at Curate for a number of years. Community is kind of a word that people throw around, but she’s definitely part of what our community is.
My favorite season to cook in is late summer, when you get all the peppers, tomatoes, eggplants—the nightshades are really coming in strong. Squash is still going strong. Then you’re getting into pickling things. I think that’s the most exciting time.
Ingredients
- 2 bunches of small turnips with greens
- Olive oil
- Salt
- 1/4 cup almonds
- 1 tablespoon cream sherry (or other dessert wine)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 425 F degrees.
- Separate turnip greens from the bulbs. Rinse greens and bulbs with cold water, scrubbing bulbs to remove any dirt. Dry with with a clean kitchen towel. There is no need to peel small, tender turnips. If you are working with larger turnips, you can peel them and cut them into wedges.
- Place whole turnips on a rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Place pan in the oven and roast for 10 minutes, stir, then roast another 10 to 20 minutes more, until turnips are browned. (For larger turnips, you may need to roast longer.)
- While the turnips are roasting, toast and roughly chop almonds.
- Remove turnips from the oven. Add a few splashes of cream sherry and shake the pan to glaze the turnips. Add the greens and toss with the turnips in the pan until they are just wilted. Adjust seasoning. Stir in toasted almonds and serve.
- You can substitute another nut for the almonds or add in whatever else you like. At the restaurant right now we’re serving this with a romesco sauce, which is made from roasted tomatoes and peppers.