Turnips? | Imamother

Lydia

Thu, Jan 29 2015, 8:30 pm

Braised.
Slice them thinly along with an equal amount of onions. Layer them in a lightly oiled frying pan, salt and pepper, and cook them covered on a fairly low temperature for a long time--like 1/2 to an hour--until they're as tender as you like them. You might want to turn them at some point, depending how deeply they are layered.

This sounds really simple, and it is. But it has a more complex flavor than you would think.

Mrs Bissli

Sat, Jan 31 2015, 8:35 pm

Salad: you can peel, grate, and dress simply with salt, lemon juice and olive juice.
Very refreshing.

Pickles: no need to peel. Cut into large-ish chunks (about 2bites), pickle in a sterilised
jar or a Tupperware. It is really pretty if you can add 1-2 peeled raw beets, as it tints
the pickles lovely pink hue. For 1kg turnip/beetroots mix, you need 2tbsp salt, 1 cup
vinegar, 1 cup boiling water. This is lower salt than normal pickles, so you can leave in
cold larder in winter, or keep refrigerated. Can be eaten from day 2-3, best consumed
within 2weeks.

Braised: you can peel, halve or quarter, cut into 1-inch thickness, braise with
small amount of oil, water(just enough to cover the bottom 2inch of pot), salt, pepper
to taste and cook for 15min or so till tender. Turn off flame and add a squeeze of
lemon juice.

Fried: Slice as above. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and leave for 10min, then pat dry.
Heat 1tbsp oil in a skillet, fry till lightly browned, turning once. Best eaten hot
we like to make a pitta sandwich with fried turnips and hummous, sliced cheese optinal.

Compote: peel, cut into large-ish chunks. In a pot, add enough water to cover
most of turnip (it doesn't have to come all the way to the top). Add about 1/4-1/3cup
brown sugar for 1kg turnip. (The original recipe calls for date syrups--silan--which gives
lovely mellow and more complex flavour, but brown sugar works fine). Cook over robust
flame for 10min, remove any scum that floats, lower heat and simmer for another 30min
till water gets syrupy and turnips are quite soft but not mushy. Can be eaten warm
or chilled. This is supposed to be a good remedy for sore throat and cold as well.
My family's favourite. You can add a slice of fresh ginger during the cooking as well.