inspired by a small bunch of turnips provided in our weekly c.s.a., my love of beans, and a desire to use a fresh local sausage, i came up with this recipe. though i originally intended to make it a bit creamier, i really loved the brothiness of this soup and recommend serving it this way. it highlights the texture of the beans--and presents nicely. however, if your heart is set on a thick creamy bean soup, i'm sure it will be tasty that way, too. after the beans are cooked and have reached a safe temperature, remove a cup or two of beans and turnips, mash or blend them, and stir them back in. reheat the soup before serving.
my husband's name for this dish is "crack salad" -- unfortunately not a very descriptive title for the components of the dish, so i had to come up with another name...
this is my quick go-to recipe when i don't feel like cooking and need some fresh veggies. we use five cheese tortellini from costco to cut down on prep time. the vegetable prep work can take awhile, but you can rush the prep time by chopping and dicing into larger pieces -- or getting a sous chef to help.
rice and gravy is the ultimate cajun homestyle comfort food. cajun gravy is not what the rest of the united states thinks of as "gravy" -- which usually has a fair amount of flour and stock and other things added to it. cajun gravy is formed from juices of the meat, gradoux (see my cooking philosophy), and diced onion. in the spirit of full disclosure, cajuns make their gravies many different ways, and some may even use a bit of cornstarch or flour. but, my gravy is made in the spirit of my grandparents' roasts and made without any thickening agent.
a critical part of this recipe is browning the meat. browning the meat darkly enough to make a good gravy without burning the meat is a skill that takes practice. a flavorful, dark brown gravy requires you to almost burn your roast. ideally, your roast will be brown and just seconds away from burning when you remove it from the dutch oven and throw in the diced onion. if you're a little intimated by browning the meat, read the entire recipe before you throw your roast in a pot.
this recipe takes time and the meat is slow-cooked--producing tender meat and a wonderful aroma throughout your home. when i made this recipe, i used a sirloin tip roast. but, any roast cut will work fine, because the slow cooking will make almost any meat tender.
