Turnips, I got 'em.

[Richard Kilgore]

The thread on Kale generated so many good ideas I decided to ask about what everyone does with turnips. I got a bag of them specifically to do a turnip omlette based on a recipe in Richard Olney's Simple French Food. And even here I have a question due to an unintended amiguity created by his sentence structure: do I peel these things before grating them? Or just clean them up, trim the ends and grate?

Beyond that I would very much like to hear what you do with turnips.

[SobaAddict70]

Puree them and mix with lots of unsalted butter, cream. Fold in herbs, adjust seasoning. A little white truffle oil is amazing but not necessary.

Roast them, along with winter root vegs, and toss with a lemon balsamic viniagrette.

Make a vichysoisse, except add in a couple of turnips.

Make Szechuan pickled turnips.

I could come up with a few more, I think.

Soba

[Mayhaw Man]

Trim the ends and peel.

I like turnips alot. Try treating them just like mashed potatoes. Boil them and add butter, cream, s and p and they are good like that.

I just added a recipe that I like for Baked Turnips and Cheese (egrecipe #930). It's quick and easy and tasty. What more could you ask from a turnip?

[bloviatrix]

Toss them with duck fat and roast.

[fifi]

Compost 'em.

[sml311]

As a kindergartener I was given raw turnip for the first time. I think I was the only one who liked it...but still, I vote for raw. Mashed is good also, and I think roasted might turn out nicely, even though I have not tried it myself.

SML

[SobaAddict70]

Oooo. Make turnip cakes (you know the ones for dim sum).

I dunno though how many turnips that requires.

Soba

[ludja]

Here's some other good ideas on a recent thread turnip ideas

I think there is a turnip cake recipe in there too (yum).

[aidensnd2]

Glazed, turned turnips and carrots were a staple of culinary school and were actually quite good. Just blanch and finish in butter and sugar.

[Jonathan Day]

Make la soupe de la vierge (virgin soup): peel the turnips, dice them, put them in a saucepan with some melted butter and let them cook for a few minutes over low heat. Then cover with milk and simmer very gently, uncovered, until they are soft. Then whizz them with a blender, food processor, stick blender -- or put them through a food mill. Sieve them if you want to. You could add some chopped, melted onions at the first cooking stage: less virginal, but more flavour. Correct the seasoning with salt, white pepper, lemon juice or yoghurt for acidity.

I once made this for a church "safari supper". The number of people arriving at our house kept changing throughout the day: one more, one less, two more, one less, etc.. When it came time to serve, my wife set out 7 bowls, which I carefully and evenly filled. Unfortunately, by this time, there were 8 people dining, and no soup left. So I filled a bowl with milk and brought it in the dining room to my place, and enjoyed a bowlful of cold milk. Our guests never found out. But they enjoyed the soup.

For Olney's recipe: peel first, then grate.

[Naomi]

very simple, but yummy:

Whipped with butter, wee bit of cream and S+P and generous grating of nutmeg.

[beccaboo]

Peel them, cut them into little matchsticks, mix with chopped coriander and green onion, pour some hot peanut oil over them, them mix in a little soy sauce and sesame oil and a pinch of sugar. Yummy salad! I hate them cooked, though.

[Jonathan Day]

By the way, the treatment for turnips depends somewhat on the quality of the turnips to hand. Fresh salads will work beautifully with young, tender turnips. Older and woodier ones need to be cooked.

[Mottmott]

Using small-medium white turnips, purple shoulders: Blanch them, quarter them, fry them in butter, then dust them with fried bread crumbs. For specifics, see Child's Mastering....

[jackal10]

Turnips and lamb are a traditional pairing

Navet of lamb (lamb stew with turnips)

Roast with lamb

Julienne with remoulade, like celeriac

Nip and Nip: Turnip and Parsnip, either pureed or as soup (with a tiny pinch of curry powder)

[forever_young_ca]

Jacque Pepin's recipe for Pot Roast in his Cooking with Julia cookbook uses turnips and is delicious. I made it last weekend and it was a crowd pleaser.

[bloviatrix]

Jacque Pepin's recipe for Pot Roast in his Cooking with Julia cookbook uses turnips and is delicious. I made it last weekend and it was a crowd pleaser.

Along those lines, I made a beef stew this weekend with diced carrots, parsnips, and turnips. The vegs kept their shape and tasted very good after the long, slow simmer.

[Bicycle Lee]

make mashed turnips, add egg, form pancakes, fry until crisp. They are crispy and nice on the outside and creamy on the inside...I love this with beef and demi glace

Edited March 21, 2004 by Bicycle Lee (log)

[Schneier]

Peel and cut into chunks. Drizzle with oil, season, and roast.

Yum.

Bruce

[Jinmyo]

I have to say that I agree with everyone; especially, of course, Soba.

[KarenS]

I like them mashed with potatoes and also sliced and layered in a gratin With thyme, butter, milk, s and p (with or without potatoes). Roasted in the same pan with a chicken is good too.

[Jinmyo]

Mashed with cream, mixed with chopped steamed kale and slices of spicy sausage.

Or the same with shredded baccala.

[stevea]

And don't forget the turnip greens! They're delicious when trimmed from the stalk and prepared as you would kale or collards. I continue to grow turnips in my garden despite my lack of success at producing actual turnips larger than a marble simply because of the greens.

SteveA

[FoodMan]

Richard-

One of the most popular pickled vegetables in Lebanon are the turnips. You find them in almost every house (I made a batch a couple of weeks ago). They are normally pickled with a slice or two of beets in the jar and turn a nice deep pink/purple color. They are one of the most traditional accompaniments to Falafel. If you have Claudia Roden’s book she has a very good and easy recipe for them.

Try peeling, slicing thin and tossing in a salad.

I also concur with the suggestions for using in beef stew.

Elie

[merstar]

Make a Moroccan couscous with turnips, carrots, zucchini, chickpeas, raisins, onion, garlic, tomatoes, etc., and of course harissa. Delicious!

Edited March 23, 2004 by merstar (log)