When I heard that Turnips were to be the first vegetable of 2015, I must admit to feeling a slight panic. Can I really find enough recipes to fill a page in the magazine and would they be interesting enough? I do use Turnips in cooking of course, but it’s mainly as an added vegetable to stews and casseroles or vegetable soups.
However, when I started to look at my recipe books I was amazed to find there were many dishes I had done before. The ‘patties’ were something we cooked when camping as they are so easy to do and can be done in a frying pan on a gas stove. Of course adding Turnips or Swede to mashed potatoes is a very popular way to hide vegetables when feeding children and I love butternut squash and Turnip together in a soup. If you’re on a low carb diet, then why not try the Turnip fries as an alternative to chips?
Buen Apetito
Butternut Squash And Turnip Soup
3 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups of cubed butternut squash
2 cups of cubed turnip
1 onion diced
1 stick of celery finely chopped
1 pint of chicken stock
3 cloves of garlic
1tbsp honey
¼ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt to taste
Heat the butter and oil in a medium pan, stir in all vegetables and cook until just beginning to brown, (around 10 minutes). Add stock, garlic, honey and seasoning and cook for a further 20 minutes or until all vegetables are soft. Serve chunky or blend to a smooth soup.
Turnip and Potato Patties
½ pound turnips, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes (about 1 1/3 cups)
6 oz potato, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes (about 1 cup)
2½ tbsp thinly sliced runner beans
1 egg, beaten lightly
¼ cup plain flour
Grapeseed oil, peanut oil, or vegetable oils
Salt and pepper
In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the turnip and potato cubes for 15 to 17 minutes, until they are tender and drain them. In a bowl, mash them with a fork and stir in the runner beans, egg, flour and salt and pepper to taste. Coat the bottom of a large, heavy bottomed frying pan with about ¼ inch of the oil. Heat the pan on medium high heat until the surface of the oil begins to shimmer, but not smoke. Spoon ¼ cup mounds of the turnip potato batter into the pan, flattening them into ½ inch thick patties with the back of a spatula. Fry the patties until they are golden, turning them once, about 4 minutes on each side. Transfer the patties to paper towels to drain off excess oil.
Scalloped Turnips
4 tbsp butter
½ cup thinly sliced onions
4 cups peeled, thinly sliced turnips
2 tbsp flour
1 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
¾ cup milk
1/3 cup cream
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 1-quart casserole. Melt 1 tbsp butter and lightly sauté onions until just browned. Layer a third of the sliced turnips in the casserole dish; top with a third of the onion; sprinkle with 2 tsp of flour, 1/3 tsp of salt, and one grind of pepper; pat with dollops from 1 tbsp of butter. Repeat this layering twice. Mix milk and cream together and pour over the turnips. Cover and bake in a 350°F oven for 30 minutes, then remove cover and bake for another 30-45 minutes, or until tender and bubbly.
Turnip and Bacon Mash
2 pounds turnip
2 pounds potatoes
2 tbsp butter
1 pinch salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 dash garlic powder
½ pound bacon
Peel and cube the turnip. Cook in a saucepan in salted water until very tender. Peel and cube the potatoes and cook in a saucepan with salty water until tender. Drain both the turnip and potatoes and then mash with the butter or margarine, salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. Set aside. In a frying pan fry the bacon until nice and crispy. Remove from the pan and chop until small. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease. Add the mashed turnip and potato and crumpled bacon. Stir in the bacon grease and heat to the desired temperature before serving. Can be baked in the oven if preferred.
Turnip Fries
3 pounds turnips
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp onion powder (also known as onion salt)
Preheat oven to 220º C. Line a baking sheet with a piece of foil and lightly grease. Peel the turnips and cut into French fry-sized sticks, about 1/3 x 4 inches. Place into a large bowl and toss with the vegetable oil to coat. Place the Parmesan cheese, garlic salt, paprika, onion powder in a re-sealable plastic bag and shake to mix. Place the oiled turnips into the bag and shake until evenly coated with the spices. Spread out onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven until the outside is crispy and the inside is tender, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately.