Eatwell Recipe 2: Butter Braised New Turnips

Monday, January 19, 2009

I have to admit that I was not entirely sure what to do with the beautiful young turnips we received in our CSA produce box last week - they're just not a veggie I have much experience with yet.

Gorgeous young turnips

Clearly some research was needed... I began by consulting all my cookbooks and am sorry to report that there were not very many turnip recipes among them, and even fewer that sounded really good to me. However, I did find a few that sounded quite promising which you may hear about soon, depending on what arrives in our next few produce boxes.

Spring turnips from Eatwell

Ironically, the recipe we tried first actually came from a cookbook I do NOT own yet -- How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. My friend Sarah had suggested it and I thought it sounded intriguing so I looked online and found a version that someone had posted. Since I can't compare it to the recipe in the cookbook, I am not 100% sure how closely this matches Bittman's original recipe.

Regardless, it was relatively easy and really good! I was drawn to its simplicity and have been very into braising lately... I think that the addition of other herbs could be interesting and tasty (maybe either thyme or mint?) We will definitely make this again.

Turnips braising

Here is a pic of the finished product, served with addictively delicious shoestring style Brussel sprouts (click here for that recipe), baked potatoes and glazed Niman Ranch ham. Yum!

Braised spring turnips, shoestring brussel sprouts, baked potatoes and glazed Niman Ranch ham

Butter Braised Turnips adapted from How To Cook Everything

Ingredients

* 2 Tbsps butter
* 1 Tbsp olive or other neutral oil
* 1 pound baby turnips, more or less, with the greens trimmed off (if the turnips you're dealing with are a little larger, cut them into quarters)
* Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
* 1/4 cup white wine or broth
* 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar or other vinegar
* 1 tsp sugar
* Minced fresh parsley leaves for garnish

Directions

1. Combine the butter and oil in a medium to large skillet that can later be covered; turn the heat to medium. When the butter melts, add the turnips and cook, stirring, until they are coated with butter, just a minute or two longer. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Add the remaining ingredients, except the garnish, stir, and cover. Turn the heat to low and cook until the turnips are barely tender, about 5 minutes.

3. Uncover and raise the heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring, until the turnips are glazed and the liquid is syrupy, another few minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning, garnish, and serve.

Like this recipe? Click here to browse through more Eatwell Recipes.

The Eatwell Project: a year of seasonal recipes -- logo by Eve Fox

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

These look like "salad" turnips which means you can eat them raw, which is how I eat them. They're really sweet, and big surprise, great in salad. You can either slice or shred them. I just eat them like apples sometimes!

Sarah said...

Thanks for the shoutout Eve - we actually made Bittman's braised turnips with mustard sauce. This butter braised recipe looks much more enticing! We are still getting turnips by that handful each week from our CSA (not as pretty as the one's shown, but also good raw). So I am always looking for new ways to cook them.

Anonymous said...

I've been wanting to cook with turnips for such a long time. After reading this post, I may indeed try them very soon. Thanks for sharing.

julesandsar said...

I also receive Eatwell's box and i ended up roasting these and using some in an Israeli couscous mix and then made a puree mix for my 11 month old son (turnip, pears and parsely) - which he gobbled up. It tasted so good it had me wishing I'd made it for our dinner too!

diy home solar panels said...

This looks absolutely delicious. Would love to try it as soon as possible. Can smell from here the tasty aroma.

Stacey said...

This was one of the best things I ever made. The glaze was other worldly! Thanks!

Eve Fox said...

So glad to hear that, Stace!

ashroff27 said...

Thank you for posting this, it sounds delicious! I was wondering how to cook the turnips I just bought since I do not have much experience with them. I am going to try this recipe tomorrow!

Monday, January 19, 2009

Eatwell Recipe 2: Butter Braised New Turnips

I have to admit that I was not entirely sure what to do with the beautiful young turnips we received in our CSA produce box last week - they're just not a veggie I have much experience with yet.

Gorgeous young turnips

Clearly some research was needed... I began by consulting all my cookbooks and am sorry to report that there were not very many turnip recipes among them, and even fewer that sounded really good to me. However, I did find a few that sounded quite promising which you may hear about soon, depending on what arrives in our next few produce boxes.

Spring turnips from Eatwell

Ironically, the recipe we tried first actually came from a cookbook I do NOT own yet -- How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. My friend Sarah had suggested it and I thought it sounded intriguing so I looked online and found a version that someone had posted. Since I can't compare it to the recipe in the cookbook, I am not 100% sure how closely this matches Bittman's original recipe.

Regardless, it was relatively easy and really good! I was drawn to its simplicity and have been very into braising lately... I think that the addition of other herbs could be interesting and tasty (maybe either thyme or mint?) We will definitely make this again.

Turnips braising

Here is a pic of the finished product, served with addictively delicious shoestring style Brussel sprouts (click here for that recipe), baked potatoes and glazed Niman Ranch ham. Yum!

Braised spring turnips, shoestring brussel sprouts, baked potatoes and glazed Niman Ranch ham

Butter Braised Turnips adapted from How To Cook Everything

Ingredients

* 2 Tbsps butter
* 1 Tbsp olive or other neutral oil
* 1 pound baby turnips, more or less, with the greens trimmed off (if the turnips you're dealing with are a little larger, cut them into quarters)
* Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
* 1/4 cup white wine or broth
* 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar or other vinegar
* 1 tsp sugar
* Minced fresh parsley leaves for garnish

Directions

1. Combine the butter and oil in a medium to large skillet that can later be covered; turn the heat to medium. When the butter melts, add the turnips and cook, stirring, until they are coated with butter, just a minute or two longer. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Add the remaining ingredients, except the garnish, stir, and cover. Turn the heat to low and cook until the turnips are barely tender, about 5 minutes.

3. Uncover and raise the heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring, until the turnips are glazed and the liquid is syrupy, another few minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning, garnish, and serve.

Like this recipe? Click here to browse through more Eatwell Recipes.

The Eatwell Project: a year of seasonal recipes -- logo by Eve Fox

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

These look like "salad" turnips which means you can eat them raw, which is how I eat them. They're really sweet, and big surprise, great in salad. You can either slice or shred them. I just eat them like apples sometimes!

Sarah said...

Thanks for the shoutout Eve - we actually made Bittman's braised turnips with mustard sauce. This butter braised recipe looks much more enticing! We are still getting turnips by that handful each week from our CSA (not as pretty as the one's shown, but also good raw). So I am always looking for new ways to cook them.

Anonymous said...

I've been wanting to cook with turnips for such a long time. After reading this post, I may indeed try them very soon. Thanks for sharing.

julesandsar said...

I also receive Eatwell's box and i ended up roasting these and using some in an Israeli couscous mix and then made a puree mix for my 11 month old son (turnip, pears and parsely) - which he gobbled up. It tasted so good it had me wishing I'd made it for our dinner too!

diy home solar panels said...

This looks absolutely delicious. Would love to try it as soon as possible. Can smell from here the tasty aroma.

Stacey said...

This was one of the best things I ever made. The glaze was other worldly! Thanks!

Eve Fox said...

So glad to hear that, Stace!

ashroff27 said...

Thank you for posting this, it sounds delicious! I was wondering how to cook the turnips I just bought since I do not have much experience with them. I am going to try this recipe tomorrow!