Summertime turnips

On 4 Jun 2006 00:55:03 -0500, "Bob Terwilliger"

virtualgoth@die_spammer.biz said:

I'll be getting turnips in my CSA deliveries. What's a good thing to do with
turnips in the summertime? The only thing I can think of is turnip kimchee,
but (1) I don't know how to make it, and (2) I'd get tired of it pretty
fast.

Does anybody here have favorite summertime turnip dishes?

Bob

Deborah Madison has turnip dishes in several of her cookbooks. Her
book, Local Flavors, is one of my favorites, and if I remember, has
several turnip dishes in it. I think one of them is a braise with
other small vegetables, including young turnips.

Christine

Christine replied:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Does anybody here have favorite summertime turnip dishes?

Deborah Madison has turnip dishes in several of her cookbooks. Her
book, Local Flavors, is one of my favorites, and if I remember, has
several turnip dishes in it. I think one of them is a braise with
other small vegetables, including young turnips.

While the air conditioning in my house works just fine, the enervating heat
outdoors lessens the appeal of braises for the next four months or so. I've
got _Local Flavors_, but I haven't had a chance to look at it yet for this
specific purpose. I'll be sure to check it out.

Meanwhile, I found this recipe in Elizabeth Schneider's _Vegetables from
Amaranth to Zucchini_ (which I brought to work with me tonight); it sounds
like a good summertime use of turnips:

Quick Pink Turnip and Onion Pickles

"Turnip pickles are an indispensable part of meals in Japan, Korea, the
Middle East, North Africa, and areas of the former Soviet Union, but they
remain a rarity in the West. This unorthodox composite (including the
all-American cranberry) should remedy that, thanks to its ease of
preparation, color, and versatility. An assertive munch, the low-cal slices
add brightness and a [censored]-sweet bite to cold meat or seafood, vegetables
(avocados in particular), and grain salads. For variation, add dried chiles
and star anise or caraway to the pickling liquid. The beet adds rosiness --
a must in Middle Eastern versions and an inviting plus for newcomers to
pickled turnips -- but is not strictly necessary."

2 small red onions
1 pound small-medium turnips (about 5 turnips, weighed without greens)
1 raw or cooked beet, sliced thin
1 cup white wine vinegar or rice vinegar
1 cup cranberry juice
4 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon whole allspice
1/2 teaspoon whole peppercorns
[BOB'S NOTE: I might add mustard seeds and/or a cinnamon stick]

1. Set a full kettle of water to boil. Halve red onions through "poles," and
peel. Set cut side down, slice thin semicircles, then separate into layers.
Peel, halve, and thin-slice turnips. Combine both vegetables in colander.
Pour all the boiling water over them.

2. Combine onions, turnips, and beet in a wide-mouth 1-quart jar with
vinegar, cranberry juice, bay leaves, allspice, and peppercorns,
distributing the elements evenly throughout.

3. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 days before serving, chilled.

Makes 1 quart
[BOB'S NOTE: I'll almost certainly cut the recipe in half.]

The book also gives descriptions of recipes from other food authors, and a
couple of them sounded good enough for me to attempt this summer:

"For an Indian treatment, Madhur Jaffrey combines Turnips with Yogurt and
Tomato: Peel turnips and cut 1 1/2-inch dice. Pierce with a fork. Combine
with salt and soured yogurt (left overnight at room temperature) and let sit
for 3 hours. Strain; reserve yogurt. Brown turnips lightly in a large
nonstick skillet in peanut oil over high heat; transfer to dish. Add whole
cumin seeds to pan; stir in shallot strips and color slightly. Add peeled,
chopped tomatoes and ground hot pepper; stir a moment. Add turnips and
reserved yogurt. Cover; cook on medium heat, stirring now and then for 10
minutes. Lower heat; cook until remaining mixture clings to the turnip
pieces."
[BOB'S NOTE: If I make this, I'll probably serve it cold. I'm guessing that
the full recipe has chickpea flour added to the yogurt to keep it from
curdling. Since I have no idea where the original recipe might be found,
I'll just go with my instincts and add a tablespoon or so.]

"Turnips are salted to eliminate moisture and 'cook' the flesh for a
Japanese salad, Crisp Turnip with Sesame-Miso Dressing: Cut peeled turnips
into julienne; toss with salt and let stand 20 minutes. Rinse and gently
squeeze out liquid. Blend freshly toasted and ground white sesame seeds,
sweet white miso, and sake. Add Japanese mustard (or any hot powdered
mustard blended to a paste with hot water, then allowed to mellow, covered,
for 30 minutes). Add turnips and toss to coat. Top with grated citrus zest,
blend, and serve (from _Good Food from a Japanese Temple_ by Soei Yoneda)."

Bob

Bob Terwilliger said:

I'll be getting turnips in my CSA deliveries. What's a good thing to do with
turnips in the summertime? The only thing I can think of is turnip kimchee,
but (1) I don't know how to make it, and (2) I'd get tired of it pretty
fast.

Does anybody here have favorite summertime turnip dishes?

Turnips are good raw... cut into sticks makes great dipping crudites...
shredded turnip makes a wonderful slaw or mixed into carrot and raisin
salad... or shred turnip into baked goods, instead of carrot/zuke cake,
especially into quick breads/muffins. Plain ol' roasted turnips are
very nice... and there're always turnip soups, hot and cold,
pureed/creamed.

I like turnip sandwiches, sliced paper thin on buttered Russian black
bread, with sardines and onion with a squeeze of lemon... add the lemon
rind to a tall glass of ice cold vodka. grrrrrrup.

http://www.justvegetablerecipes.com/inxtrp.html

Sheldon

Bob Terwilliger said:

I'll be getting turnips in my CSA deliveries. What's a good thing to
do with turnips in the summertime? The only thing I can think of is
turnip kimchee, but (1) I don't know how to make it, and (2) I'd get
tired of it pretty fast.

Does anybody here have favorite summertime turnip dishes?

If they're fresh and crisp, I like them raw.

Brian
--
If televison's a babysitter, the Internet is a drunk librarian who
won't shut up.
-- Dorothy Gambrell (http://catandgirl.com)

Bob Terwilliger virtualgoth@die_spammer.biz said:

Does anybody here have favorite summertime turnip dishes?

Here are three recipes, the first from _Simple French Food_ by Richard
Olney, the second from _French Country Cooking_ by Elizabeth David, and
the third from Claudia Roden's books once posted by Evergene in response
to my query, complete with his comments.

Victor

Savory Turnip Omelet
(Omelette de Navets à la Sarriètte)

This is an astonishingly good thing with a surprising flavor. Chopped
black olives may be added to the mixture.

1 pound turnips (young and tender - any with spongy or fibrous
inclinations should be relegated to the soup pot)
Salt
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon fresh savory leaves, finely chopped (if not of a spring
tenderness, chopped to a near powder)
3 eggs
1/2 cup chopped parsley
Pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

Peel the turnips, grate coarsely or pass them through the medium blade
of a Mouli-juliènne, and leave in salted layers to disgorge their water.
After 1/2 hour, squeeze the mass of juliènne tightly and repeatedly and
put to stew gently in the butter sprinkled with the savory, tossing
often, for about 15 minutes or until tender. Taste for salt and season
the mixture accordingly.

Stir together the eggs, the parsley, and a generous grinding of black
pepper. Add the turnips, a little at a time if they are still hot,
beating them in with a fork.

Prepare this like the other flat omelets, stirring the mixture the
moment it is poured into the hot oil, smoothing it out, and cook for
about 5 minutes over a moderately low flame before tossing (or start it
out in the high flame and finish in the oven, unmolding it for the
service). Serve tepid.

_____________________________________________________

Navets Glacés (Elizabeth David)

Put small, whole, peeled turnips (as nearly as possible the same size)
into boiling salted water and cook for 10-15 minutes, until they are
nearly ready. Drain them, put them into a small buttered dish which
will bear the heat of the flame, sprinkle them with castor sugar, put
more butter on the top and 2 or 3 tablespoons of the water in which they
have cooked, and put the dish on a very low fire until the sauce turns
brown and slightly sticky. Watch carefully to see that it doesn't burn.
Spoon a little of the glaze over each turnip and serve as they are, in
the same dish.
_____________________________________________________

Claudia Roden gives two (slightly different) recipes for these, one in
"Mediterranean Cookery", and one in "The Book of Jewish Food". Main
difference is whether you add vinegar to the pickling liquid. Vinegar
gives added shelf life, and I like what it does to my mouth. I do six
or seven cut-up turnips at a time, because that's how many my jar can
hold, and I use 3 tablespoons each of vinegar and salt, to about 4 cups
of water. Here's what Claudia says:

Pickled Turnips ("Torshi Left"😉

2 lbs. turnips
1 beet, raw or cooked, peeled and sliced
(The beet is only to add color.)
3 or 4 garlic cloves, sliced (I use more)
2 pints of water
3 or 4 tablespoons of vinegar (I use cheap red wine vinegar)
3 or 4 tablespoons of salt
1/2 sliced hot pepper (optional - I used jalapeno or serrano)

You can use baby turnips or large ones as long as they are very firm and
unblemished. Wash and trim the turnips, peel if necessary. Cut into
two or four pieces (I cut big ones into eighths). Put the turnips into
a jar (I sterilize the jar, but I don't think it's necessary),
interspersed with slices of beet and garlic. In a pan, bring the
water-salt-vinegar to the boil, stirring to dissolve the salt. Pour
over the turnips. I let the mix cool before I seal the jar. Keep at
room temperature for about four days, then refrigerate.

Is there a difference between summertime turnips and the plain ol'
purple top turnips I get the rest of the time? Are they more tender or
a different flavor?

I slice potatoes and turnips thin. (I use the cuisinart for perfect
slices, about 1/8".) I layer them in a casserole dish with melted
butter and minced garlic between the layers. I also throw in some
grated hard cheese. (Cheddar, parmesan, manchego, are nice.) The top
layer should be cheese. Then bake until everything is soft and bubbly
with the cheese browned on top.

--Lia