Pan-Fried Turnips & Squash

June 28, 2009

090626squashturnips Pan Fried Turnips & Squash

On Thursday I had my first CSA veggie storage issue: I’d washed and spun dry the lettuce mix I received on Wednesday, packing it loosely in a Ziploc bag. I tossed it on the very top shelf of my fridge, and somehow it froze. When I went to make a salad the next day, I had a bag of what looked like slimy dark green (very cold) seaweed. I can’t fit everything I receive in my produce bins, but clearly I need to be more careful about where things are being stored in the refrigerator.

Instead of salad, I quartered all the turnips from this week and last week, throwing them with salt and olive oil into a hot frying pan. These are young, tender turnips, so after cooking for only about 5 minutes I added in two small summer squash and a few scallions and continued sauteing until everything was caramelized.

Turnips are not my favorite veg — I find them a bit watery no matter how I prepare them. But for a quick side dish, this combination worked nicely. A. was even happy to eat the squash, but only if we could find a piece that was plain, without any “brown spots” (the caramelized bits) on them.