Pappardelle with braised turnip greens and crunchy pistachios

ingredients

fresh pappardelle lots of fresh turnip greens grated Parmesan shredded pistachios 1 tbsp dried garlic 150 g butter salt and black pepper ground turmeric fennel sprig

progress

We were in Tuscany at Olivoode, a tiny olive farm from where I’ve been buying olive oil. I say it’s the best in the world, mostly because my friend Maria Mikloskova makes it there, literally, in the “seclusion of the woods”. I like things with a story, the oil is in this recipe too. Authentic. More recipes will be from staying at her house, more dishes will be photographed on her dishes, plates and decorations, for which I am extremely grateful. Although I’ve lived in Italy longer myself, it’s only now that I’ve discovered “vaporizzati”, or steamed in advance, turnip (or quaca) leaves in the store. I first bought them as spinach, a green mixture in a box, only at home did I notice that it was “Rape”. And immediately upon arrival, tired from traveling, I prepared this magnificent though very simple dish for my weary family. In a matter of minutes, the meal was prepared and eaten. Very, very much suited to it that Italian prosecco. You don’t have to make fresh pasta at home, it can be bought chilled at the store. Even in Italy they have “pasta fresca” in an awful lot of varieties. You’ll certainly enjoy it if you use penne or strozapretti or other shapes.

1.

Instead of quacca (turnip) greens, you can also use beetroot, daikon radish, chard or spinach, or nettles, or organic kohlrabi leaves

2.

Roast the pistachios and chop them. In Italy, even crushed, they are cheaper than whole.

3.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the turnip greens. We take out the firm and fresh leaves, even with the stems, chop it into small pieces.

4.

Heat a frying pan, add a little water and when the water is hot, add all the turnip greens and saute briefly with garlic and salt.

5.

Add butter, crushed black pepper and turmeric. Finally, stir in the torn fennel sprig.

6.

Strain the cooked pasta to “al dente” and stir in the hot mixture in the pan.

7.

Serve on plates, add crushed roasted pistachios. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with cheese. I cooked them a second time a few days later and added “ricotta fresca mista” instead of parmesan cheese, unreal taste – a mix of fresh sheep and cow ricotta, I ate about a kilo of it in a few days . If you’re in Italy, try it. Buon appetito!

8.

Tip: my translator translated “rape” as turnip, or quack. In the shop, when I asked, the saleswoman explained that it was a radish-like vegetable .