Rutabaga, Lardo & Beurre Blanc of Pickled Gherkins
Rutabaga – A Winter Recipe
The rutabaga has long found no place in recipes and cookbooks. Unfortunately, this is not really surprising, I just remember the watery rutabaga stew back in my school days, but the rutabaga can well be used in other ways and one can sure create some tasty recipes including it. I like to use it for rutabaga purée, a creamy rutabaga soup or process it raw and enjoy it pickled. As you can see, this vegetable can erase many negative culinary memories.
Lardo as a Seasoning
Many of you will know about the spicy taste and the tender, but still firm consistency of good Lardo bacon, but for those of you who haven't had the pleasure yet, just for your information. Lardo is a particularly mature, fat bacon mainly found in the Italian kitchen, but today you can also get regional Lardo bacon with organic origin. Lardo is very suitable to protect meat with low fat content from drying out but the taste of a good Lardo is best enjoyed unprocessed.
Gherkin Beurre Blanc – Leftovers as a Base
The motivation for this recipe is based on the question: "what can I do with the stock from the jar of pickled gherkins", especially since the cucumbers grew in our own vegetable plot. Pickled gherkins can be found on our table at least once a week, so there is definitely a bit of pickle stock. Somehow, I had the idea to use the stock of the pickled gherkins as a basis for a sauce and the classic Beurre Blanc (white butter), with its high butter content, simply modifies the taste of the pickled gherkins. A first tasty result was achieved already during the first test cooking.
Food Pairing of Rutabaga, Lardo & Pickled Gherkins
So, what happens on the plate and on the palate? After its time in the oven, the rutabaga acquires wonderful roasting aromas, which mix with sweetness and a few bitter aromas. If you add the raw Lardo bacon, the turnip suddenly gains a very special taste which is then broken up and brought together on the same time as soon as the pickled gherkin Beurre Blanc are brought into play. This happens simply because of the acidity combined with the high fat content of the Beurre Blanc. On the plate you find such a wonderful winter recipe, which should polish up the dusty image of the rutabaga.
This and more recipe inspirations can be found on my site Eatery Berlin
