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Turnip Greens Frittata

October  8, 2013

In Cooking from Every Angle, we hear from our fearless leaders: Food52 co-founders Amanda & Merrill.

Today: Amanda shows us how to make good use of turnip greens.

Turnip Greens Frittat

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Since I did a pretty good job of annoying every living Spaniard with my post on tortilla, I thought it would be a good moment to welcome Italians into the conversation. I put turnip greens in my frittata (feel free to comment below). I add potatoes, too. And I fry my potatoes in the pan that I cook the frittata, which is actually a technique I borrowed from Spanish tortilla. Sorry, Italy! I also use cheese. Because I like it.

Other than being totally inauthentic, I promise you this frittata is a delicious way to use up young, fresh turnip greens, and it's an easy weeknight dinner (or lunch) to boot! Here's how to make it.

Turnip greens frittata from Food52

Assemble your ingredients -- just a few things: olive oil, nice, young turnip tops, Parmesan cheese, potatoes, garlic, and eggs, of course.

 Turnip greens frittata from Food52 

Begin by browning cubed (tiny, tiny cubes) potatoes and garlic in oil -- just enough to cover the base of your pan. Add some sliced turnip tops (I give you a specific measurement but a large handful or two will do).

Turnip greens frittata from Food52 Turnip greens frittata from Food52

Wilt the turnip greens. Whisk your eggs and season with salt and pepper.

Turnip greens frittata from Food52 Turnip greens frittata from Food52

Whisk them again -- this is my favorite part! Pour the eggs into the pan, covering the greens and potatoes.

Turnip greens frittata from Food52 Turnip Greens Frittata from Food52

Give the eggs a nice showering of Parmesan, and put it in the oven.

Turnip Greens from Food52

Turnip Greens and Potato Frittata

Serves 4

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large or 2 small white potatoes, skin on and finely diced (no larger than 1/4-inch; 1 1/2 cups total)
1 garlic clove, smashed and chopped
Salt
1 to 2 bunches turnip greens, stems discarded and leaves sliced crosswise into 1/2-inch strips (you should have 4 cups loosely packed sliced greens)
8 eggs, lightly beaten
Coarsely ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.

Photos by James Ransom

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A New Way to Dinner, co-authored by Food52's founders Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs, is an indispensable playbook for stress-free meal-planning (hint: cook foundational dishes on the weekend and mix and match ‘em through the week).

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Amanda Hesser

Written by: Amanda Hesser

Before starting Food52 with Merrill, I was a food writer and editor at the New York Times. I've written several books, including "Cooking for Mr. Latte" and "The Essential New York Times Cookbook." I played myself in "Julie & Julia" -- hope you didn't blink, or you may have missed the scene! I live in Brooklyn with my husband, Tad, and twins, Walker and Addison.

9 Comments

Marian October 17, 2013
Sorry, Amanda, I don't check this email account all the time. I am familiar with the usual southern method of cooking greens a long time with bacon, hog jowl or ham. It is very good but what I usually do is fry up some thinly sliced onions in a little oil. (I generally use olive oil.) I add a small dry hot pepper of some kind and a little garlic. After about a minute, I add the chopped greens and a half a cup of water. I like to mix several kind of greens so I would put in collards and mustard in first and after 5 minutes or so add turnip greens, after another five minutes Swiss chard or kale, and then maybe the outer leaves of romaine if I have them. I grow a lot of kinds of greens in my garden in the winter so I tend to grab a little of several kinds of greens. Add water as you need to so that there is always about 1/2 cup in the pot. These will be done to my liking in about half an hour from the time you put the first greens in. Add a dash of hot sauce and a little vinegar, salt and pepper. To finish the dish, you could drop some cornmeal dumplings on top of the greens and cook gently for a few more minutes. I am sorry I don't have exact measurements. I learned this recipe from "The Florida Cookbook" by Jeanne Volz and Caroline Stuart. It is a terrific cookbook for anyone that wants to cook authentic Florida food.
 
Amanda H. October 19, 2013
This sounds delicious -- thanks for sharing your recipe!
 
Bonny October 13, 2013
You neglected to mention "The Cook and the Gardner" which I just pulled out this week to reread. It's a lovely book, and makes me smile and look at my garden in a different light.
 
Amanda H. October 13, 2013
Thanks so much -- I'm really glad you like that book. These days, I have just herb pots on our deck, very much downsized from my France years.
 
William S. October 11, 2013
Turnip greens, collard greens and mustard greens are three classic greens in the south. They are cooked alone or combined in various proportions - the strong flavor of collards can be relieved if you add maybe 1/3 mustard greens to the mix. The greens are simmered for hours with the final result being silky tender greens with a the contrasting slight chewiness of the chopped stems. Pork in some form is required: ham hocks, ham shank, salt pork, bacon. If you are too poor to have the meat itself then bacon grease is used. Other classic additions are onion, garlic, a hot pepper and a spoonful of sugar if the greens are too bitter or sour. The end result is served with a slotted spoon on your plate or you get an entire bowlful with the glorious pot liquor. Now crumble some cornbread into the pot liquor and enjoy southern comfort food.

Interestingly, I've seen long-cooked greens with cured pork in some Italian renditions and I'm sure these are both examples of how the cooking of the poor is repeated across time and miles.
 
Amanda H. October 11, 2013
Thanks, William!
 
Marian October 10, 2013
Your headline caught my eye. You are obviously not from the south where people are much more likely to eat turnip greens than the root.
 
Amanda H. October 10, 2013
You are right! Tell us how you cook with them.
 
beth Y. October 9, 2013
Turnip tops are my favourite! I'd never really tried them while I was living in the UK but in Italy we eat them all the time!