Japanese Turnips and Mushroom Soup
adapted from https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014657-leek-and-turnip-soup-with-kale-and-walnut-garnish
So you look at a recipe, realize you have about 60% of the ingredients, and then just run with it.
2-3 tbl olive oil
2 onions, diced
16 oz (2 pts) of mushrooms, sliced. I used white and brown.
3 garlic cloves, minced
6 or so japanese white turnips, scrubbed and cut into 1/2” or so pieces (reserve the tops!)
1 bunch of radishes, scrubbed, cut in half. You can choose to combine the radish tops withe the turnip greens, or not.
¼ cup rice (I used brown)
5-6 cups vegetable stock. My stock this time was from Risotto di Fagioli all Veneta from Fagioli by Judith Barrett
1 bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Beet greens, well rinsed and thicker stems removed/
1/3 cup toasted nuts (walnuts, pine nuts work as well)
1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, 4 to 5 minutes.
Add the mushrooms, and cook until they have lost their moisture and have just started to brown.
Stir in the garlic and cook, stirring, until the garlic smells fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Add turnips, radishes and rice. Stir to coat the veggies and rice in the garlic infused oil.
Add stock, bay leaf, and salt, and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat, cover and simmer 25 - 30 minutes until rice is cooked and veggies are tender.
While the soup is simmering, blanch the greens in boiling salted water just until tender, 1½ to 2 minutes, or steam for about 3 minutes.
Transfer to a bowl of cold water, drain and squeeze out excess water.
Place the squeezed bunch of kale on your cutting board and slice into thin slivers.
When soup is done, blend it to a smooth puree.
Return to the pot, reheat
Serve with walnuts and greens on top. Flaky salt, some black pepper, a touch of hot sauce, all would go well.
TIP
* Advance preparation: The soup will keep for a day or two in the refrigerator. Whisk before reheating. Good for freezing, but freeze the greens separately and add them after thawing once the soup has been reheated.