I've cooked my way through all 264 recipes
in The New Mediterranean Diet Cookbook!

July 8, 2010

Pasta al Pomodoro (p. 195) with Gratin of Purple-Topped Turnips (p. 340)

Tonight was the night that Matt and I found out that we don't like turnips. But first, Pasta al Pomodoro!

This is pretty similar to the other pasta dishes that have tomato-based sauces that I've created -- in this case the sauce is made by sautéing onion (I used red, because that's what I had on hand), garlic, and minced parsley in olive oil. Once the veggies have softened, add canned whole tomatoes that have been chopped up as well as dried oregano. Raise the heat and continue cooking the sauce for about 20 minutes until its consistency is jammy. Add salt and pepper to taste.


While the sauce is cooking, cook the pasta according to its directions. Once it is al dente, stir in parmigiano reggiano cheese, top with the sauce, and add more cheese. Tada!


This sauce was very tasty and a tiny bit spicy (probably due to the red onion.) We both quite enjoyed it.

What we did not enjoy, on the other hand, was the Gratin of Purple-Topped Turnips. They had so much promise, but alas.

In case you actually like turnips, here's how they were prepared -- scrub the turnips and cut them into thin slices. Put these in a pan of boiling water to cook for about 7 minutes, until tender. Remove the turnip slices from the water and place them in a lightly oiled gratin dish.


In a saucepan, cook finely chopped shallot and garlic in olive oil. When the veggies are cooked, add veggie stock and and parsley and bring the stock to a boil. Pour the contents of the pan over the turnip slices and sprinkle with parmesan cheese and black pepper.


Cover the gratin dish with aluminum foil and cook for about 25 minutes before basting the turnips with more of the liquid and cooking for five more minutes.


I suppose it's possible that if you like turnips you might enjoy this dish, but I can't really fathom it.

Luckily we filled up on pasta and then apple pie and vanilla ice cream, so we can't complain.

canned tomatoes -- $1.39
Total Cost of Pasta al Pomodoro: $1.39

turnips -- $.81
shallots -- $2.19
Total Cost of Gratin of Purple-Topped Turnips: $3.00

2 comments:

  1. sometimes turnips are tasty when mixed with regular potatoes.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hmmm... not sure that I'll try making them on my own again, but I might be willing to sample them cooked like that!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for dropping by! Love, Katrina.