turnips

[Deleted]

For those of us in the northern hemisphere, the season has arrived to try to rehabilitate turnips again. I know that it is a much maligned vegetable in North America, but even in France it is regarded with disdain by younger generations. I learned to appreciate it in my grandmother's cooking and also as an element in couscous stew. But what I found really strange in recent years was that when I included it in a meal served to my friends, whom I must admit are generally 10-15 years younger than me, they would ask "what is that?" because it sort of looked like a piece of potato to them but tasted completely different. When I identified the item as being a piece of turnip, I could see the look of surprise in their eyes along the lines of "but I always heard that turnips were disgusting and this isn't disgusting at all." One thing that I like about turnips is their surprising peppery taste, which really adds an interesting to all sorts of soups and stews.

The most common kind of turnip eaten in France is this one.

www.cuisine-de-bebe.com/wp-content/uploads/navet.jpg

However, I have recently discovered the navet boule d'or (which seems to just be called a yellow turnip in English). They are much larger than the purple and white turnips, but I found the taste to be really excellent and subtle.

www.foodavenue.fr/uploads/photos/0b9d78ede81e2ab128afe5ab321c6e45.jpg

I will be buying many more of these in the near future until I get tired of them.

Who else eats turnips here?

[Deleted]

I adore turnips.
I grew up wit them being served mashed at winter meals and here used as a major ingredient in vegetable soups and casseroles.
I have not ever seen the yellow variety you posted.
Have you tried them and are thyt different in taste from the traditional purple/whites?

[mich64]

I too have never seen the yellow turnips and would love to try them. I will keep watch for this.

My favourite turnip dish is a casserole that includes turnip and sweet potatoes mashed and combined together and covered with cheese.

[Deleted]

The interesting thing is that when I bought the yellow turnips, I had never seen them before either, but they looked wonderful. At the checkout, the cashier picked up the bag and said "I have never seen these before, but they look great!"

They taste a little different from the other turnips. Not as peppery but with something that gives them a richer flavour, so they are really fantastic. Tonight I finished the first half of the yellow turnips in a really excellent soup.

[Deleted]

Those look like rutabagas, which I adore.

[Deleted]

Interestingly enough, right next to the yellow turnips, there were also rutabagas, which I had not seen in that supermarket in ages, so they were definitely not the same item. However, they were the same size as rutabagas.

[Deleted]

My turnip au gratin that I made for our Thanksgiving feast was a huge hit.
I improvised a wee bit from the original recipe that I remember having seen somewhere and couldn't put my hands on but, it was pretty much of a no brainer as I have made au gratins of all kinds so many times.
The key was slicing the turnips paper thin and alternating layers of the turnip with Gruyere cheese, sliced shallots, a teensy bit of onion, heavy cream and topped off with grated Romano.
The only seasonings were black pepper, salt, and a smidgeon of grated nutmeg.
Very, very rich and yummy.

[Deleted]

That sounds excellent, casimira. As we approach winter, I will be buying more turnips soon.