Use fresh turnips if you can find them
People all over the world serve them, but they get little respect here. Turnips store well, and have lots of vitamin A and C. They’re low in calories, cheap, easy to cook and have a pleasant bite, a little like a radish. Most Virginia turnips have been pulled before the ground freezes, so it may be too late to take advantage of the greens, but the white roots with purple tops (there are also pure white turnips) are sold everywhere. Their appeal to our frugal ancestors is the same reason they’re well-suited for meals today.
Fix your turnips by scrubbing well (if someone gave you a pair of those rough exfoliating gloves for Christmas, this is a good use for them). Most recipes say to peel them, but I get my turnips from the gardens of John’s relatives and they’re fresh and tender, so I skip this step. If yours seem a little tough, use a regular carrot peeler to remove the skin. There are many ways to fix them, so take your pick.
- Mash them, either alone or with potatoes. They retain more water than potatoes, so drain well. I put them back in the hot pot once they’re drained and shake them until they’re very dry. This helps keep the dish fluffy instead of soup, and also makes sure the vegetables will absorb the butter and milk when they’re mashed.
- Roast them in the oven with other root vegetables like carrots and onions. First toss with olive oil, rosemary and salt.
- Simmer them with carrots, potatoes and onions in chicken stock or water and serve as a side dish. They’re a classic served this way with corned beef and cabbage. Use the water from simmering the corned beef after skimming the fat.
- Layer them with cabbage or potatoes in an oven-proof dish, after first slicing and sauteeing them. Season with cream and butter, top with bread crumbs and bake until the top browns and all are tender.
- Substitute turnips for mashed potatoes and save hundreds of calories. Skip the butter, use skim milk, and simmer in chicken stock for flavor.
- Rodney Phillips serves them with thick pork chops: he fries the chops, removes the bone, adds the meat to a pot of cooked and drained turnips with a little salt and sugar, then reheats them slowly to let the meat flavor the vegetables.
