This recipe is one of those very special “what do we have in laying around the house that’s edible” recipes. Sound familiar?

In our case that included delicious turnips foraged from the Headhouse Farmers’ Market (grown by Weaver’s Way Farm), old potatoes, much older pearl onions, eggs, and POD-grown pepper cress (that needed to be yanked to make room for the thyme and chives that were also purchased on Sunday.)

Turnip Puree with Roasted Potatoes, Crispy Onions, and Slow-Poached Egg

Slow-Poached Egg (courtesy of David Chang’s Momofuku Cookbook)

1. Fill a big, deep pot with water and heat to 140-145 degrees, over low heat.
2. Use something to keep the 2 eggs from sitting directly on the bottom of the pot. Like a cake rack or inverted ramekins or a handful of chopsticks.
3. leave eggs in 140-145-degree water for 45 minutes.

Potatoes (while your eggs are poaching):

1. Preheat the oven to 375.
2. Cube (1 to 1 1/2 lb or so) potatoes into 1/2″ish pieces.
3. Coat with 2 tbs oil (We had some duck fat reserved from Christmas dinner. It was delicious)
4. Place the potatoes on a baking sheet, try to leave some room between each chunk so they roast rather than steam.
5. Roast them for 25-40 minutes, until tender and toasty brown. Half-way through your cooking, flip the potatoes so they turn golden brown on several sides.
6. Dump ’em in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.

Crispy Onions

1. Slice a small onion (or several pearl onions or shallots — whatever) thinly
2. Fry until dark golden brown (watch them carefully once they begin to brown as they can become carbon slivers quite quickly) in a tablespoonish of oil. Pat dry with paper towel.

Turnips (while your potatoes are in the oven):

1. 12 oz (or so). Chop off the greens and the little root. Wash. Chop into 1″ish chunks.
2. Place in a pot with 1 1/2 c. milk (we used 1%) and bring to a simmer.
3. Toss in 1 tbs rice, 1/2 tsp kosher salt, and a decent amount of black pepper.
4. Simmer for about 15-25 minutes or until a fork easily pierces the turnip.
5. Drain the mixture in a colander set over a bowl and save the liquid.
6. Dump the drained turnips into a blender and puree until smooth. Add a little of the reserved liquid if you need to. Season with salt and pepper.

Assemble:

1. Place a big scoop of turnip puree in the center of your plate.
2. Potatoes go on top of turnips.
3. Crispy shallots go on top of potatoes.
4. Gently crack your poached egg into a small bowl or ramekin and discard the loose white stuff. Place the egg on top of the potatoes.
5. Sprinkle with roughly chopped pepper cress or peppery greens.