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Vegetarian Carbonara with Baby White Turnips & Greens

Yield

Yield: 4 Servings

Ingredients

  • 12 ounces pasta (fettucine, pappardelle, linguini, or any small pasta that holds sauce well)
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 ½ cups baby white turnips, medium dice
  • 1 ½ cups cremini or white button mushrooms, medium dice
  • ½ cup thinly sliced green garlic
  • ½ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • 8-10 cups of greens, roughly chopped*
  • 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
  • 1-2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste

Instructions

  1. Boil a large pot of salted water and cook pasta to al dente according to package instructions.  When the pasta is cooked, remove 1 cup of the pasta water and set it aside before you drain the pasta.
  2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat.  When the oil shimmers, add turnips, mushrooms and green garlic.  Sauté for 5-7 minutes or until the vegetables are tender but not completely cooked.  Add the red pepper flakes and smoked paprika.  Stir to combine and sauté an additional 30 seconds.
  3. Add the chopped greens to the pan and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Continue to cook over medium to medium-high heat until the greens wilt down. Use tongs to flip the greens around periodically to help them wilt.
  4. While the greens are cooking down, prepare the carbonara sauce.  In a medium bowl, beat the eggs, then whisk in the parmesan and 1 Tbsp lemon juice.  Slowly whisk in ¼ cup of the reserved pasta water.
  5. Once the greens are wilted down, reduce the heat to low and add the drained pasta to the pan.  It’s important to reduce the heat before adding the egg mixture.  If the pan is too hot the eggs will scramble instead of making a nice, smooth sauce.
  6. Pour the egg mixture over the pasta and vegetable mixture.  Stir to combine and simmer, stirring frequently for 5-7 minutes or until the eggs and cheese have formed a light sauce that evenly coats the pasta.  Taste and adjust the seasoning with additional lemon juice, salt and freshly ground black pepper.  You may also wish to add a little more pasta cooking liquid if the sauce seems too “tight” or thick.
  7. Once seasoned to your liking, serve warm with grated Parmesan as desired.

Notes

Note: You may use any greens you have available.  We suggest using the green tops from the turnips along with spinach, radish tops, hon tsai tai, bok choi or sauté mix.  Basically, anything that will wilt down into this pasta dish will work!  It will seem like there are a lot of greens, but once they wilt down the quantity will be appropriate for this dish.

 

Recipe based on “Weeknight Carbonara: No Bacon, Loaded with Greens” from alexandracooks.com.

 

For more amazing recipes featuring vegetables from your CSA boxes, visit our recipe archives!

 

 

Vegetable Carbonara with Baby White Turnips & Greens
Vegetable Carbonara with Baby White Turnips & Greens
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