July 30, 2007
Turnip your dinner's vitamin content
I prepared a simple side dish last night that I remember my mother cooking up on a fairly regular basis. Although I know I was more adventurous than other kids my age when it came to food (and my sister, while pickier than me, was probably still above-average), it still amazes me that mom could slip turnips past us at a very young age.
She did it very simply, disguising the turnips with little more than a pat of butter and some salt and pepper to taste. The trick? Boiling peeled, cubed turnips with peeled, cubed potatoes. The two vegetables cook at about the same rate and look identical when served together. If your child will eat boiled potatoes with a little butter and seasoning, give boiled potatoes and turnips a try. You might consider starting out with about a 70 to 30 ratio of potatoes to turnips, then easing up the turnip content a bit as your children get used to it. I like mine about 50 percent potatoes and 50 percent turnips.
Turnips are an excellent source of fiber and vitamin C, which will make you feel even better about putting them on your plate. And once you get used to the subtly enhanced flavor, you may never do plain old boiled potatoes again.
Looking for something a little fancier? Check out the turnip recipes I've attached below.
Potato Turnip Casserole
1 lg potato, peeled and cut up
2 small turnips, peeled and cut up
1 large sweet onion, peeled and cut up
3 Tbsp. butter
1 large garlic clove, peeled and minced
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp. salt
Black pepper to taste
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
3 Tbsp. heavy cream (on top)
Parcook the potato and turnips until just done. Saute the onion in butter. Mix all ingredients
(except cream) together into a greased casserole dish. Top with the 3 Tbsp. cream and
bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 30 minutes.
Serves 4.
Italian Turnip and Rice Soup with Parmesan Cheese
2 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 pound of turnips, peeled and cut into a 1/2-inch dice
3 pints of chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup of rice (arborio if you have it)
Salt and pepper
Garnish: minced parsley and freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Melt the butter and oil in a large saucepan and bring to a froth. Toss in the turnips and saute til brown, about 5 or so minutes. Pour in the stock, bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook, covered, for about 10 minutes. Stir in the rice and cook, covered, over medium heat for about 15 minutes. When ready to serve, stir in salt and pepper to taste, then parsley and 1 to 2 ounces of Parmesan.
Ladle into bowls and pass extra Parmesan separately.
Comments
[July 30, 2007 1:04 PM]
HenryIf I remember correctly, heat destroys Vitamin C. Turnips are really good when eaten raw. Not as good as raw asparagus but close.
[July 30, 2007 2:00 PM]
Lindsey NairI think you may be right, Henry. Vitamin C is one of those that is not stable under the effects of heat. Oh well, still a good source of fiber and some other vitamins, I guess. Raw turnip is a nice, unusual addition to a veggie tray, though. The flavor reminds me a bit of radish. Another of my favorite turnip uses is to dice it up in vegetable or vegetable beef soup.
[August 3, 2007 10:05 AM]
DennisMy wife/in-laws introduced me to turnips and potatoes nearly 40 years ago! Interestingly enough, I'd not heard of anyone else eating that until reading your story here! It IS good stuff, I love it.
[August 3, 2007 10:44 AM]
Lindsey NairHey Dennis, thanks for writing in! You know, another turnip dish that I used to enjoy was turnip greens cooked with diced turnips. I haven't had those in a long time, so maybe I'd better get on it. I'm wondering now if you could make mashed turnips, kind of like people mash cauliflower these days for a lower carb side dish. I'll bet you could.
[August 8, 2007 12:31 PM]
BrianYep, I used to make the mashed turnips with a clove or two of garlic back in the Atkins days. We also used to make turnip fries by soaking the cut-up turnips in a mixture of milk, water and splenda for 30min then coating with a Parmasan cheese (and other spice) mixture and baking like french fries.