A recipe from the forthcoming SHH (Sustainability, Health, Heritage) Recipe Book.
Ingredients
(For 6 people)
3 bunches of turnip greens (respigos)
1 dried choricero red pepper
350 gr bacon
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic clove
3 red chorizo sausages
Salt
Instructions
1. Fill a pot with water, add a pinch of salt, and set it to boil. Select the tender turnip greens, discarding any that are dry, ugly or damaged. Cook for 20 minutes. Turn them into a collander and run under the cold water tap until cool. Then squeeze them to remove as much water as possible and leave them to stand.
2. In a frying pan put the 4 tablespoons of oil. Cut the bacon in small pieces and fry until it is well browned without being burned. Set the bacon pieces aside; chop the garlic clove very finely and cut the chorizo into slices. Set them to fry in the pan along with the choricero peppers until everything is done. Keep in mind that garlic and pepper should not be burned; if you see that they begin to brown excessively, remove them. Set the chorizo, garlic and pepper aside with the bacon.
3. Check that the respigos are salted to taste, then sauté them in the remaining oil on a medium heat for about 5 minutes. After that time, turn off the heat, add the rest of the ingredients and mix well while hot. If at any point in the process you notice that there is not enough oil to be able to sauté the respigos you can add a little more.
Serve in a large bowl shared between several people, or spread over toast.
About the recipe
This is a traditional dish from Laredo, a fishing town and former capital of Cantabria.
Turnips are used both for human consumption and for livestock fodder. They are widely consumed in temperate climates, especially colder European regions, as they can be stored for several months after harvest. Turnip greens are gathered around the end of February and beginning of March, just before the flowers appear, when the shoots are tender and very fresh, with a good texture on the palate. They provided a supplement during a season of hunger.
The nutritional value of the dish is incremented by the addition of bacon and chorizo sausage. Pork was an integral part of the traditional Spanish village economy, as it was across Europe. Pigs could be fed largely on waste from the kitchen and vegetable garden, allowed to forage for acorns in autumn, then slaughtered and their meat preserved for year-round consumption.
Of course, this form of subsistence was a world away from the intensive pig farming that is practised in many developed countries today, in which these intelligent animals are kept confined in small spaces, unable to root or forage, and experience considerable stress. Consumers should try to find pork that has been ethically and sustainably produced.