The Recipe: Mashed Turnips

I can't remember when it was exactly, but it was not more than a few years ago that I actually ate a turnip. It sounds weird, and writing it now, it looks weird on the screen. Looking back, however, I cannot even envisage a scenario in which I would have eaten turnips. Thanksgiving? Nope. Christmas? Nope. Roast beef? Never. We ate potatoes as our root vegetable, and I never really thought much about it, until I met my wife.

She loves turnips and growing up she ate them on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and with a roast beef. Once I tried them, I loved turnips too. Their flavor is unique, somewhere between a radish and a potato, and they are healthier than potatoes by a long shot - 35 calories for one of average size. Now I love potatoes, I really do, but the taste of turnips really brings an extra dimension to any dish which is why I love this recipe for mashed turnips. The potatoes bring starchiness and the turnips bring flavor.

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Turnips are a root vegetable which has been consumed by humans for thousands of years. As Wikipedia so sagely describes, Pliny the Elder considered the turnip one of the most important vegetables of his day. In Hellenistic and Roman times, turnips were used to feed livestock as well as people. 

The turnip is now enjoyed by people all over the world, mostly in the autumn and winter months. It is incredibly nutritious and a healthy alternative to the potato. In addition, the leaves can also be used. Turnips can be roasted and baked, traditionally those are the most popular methods of cooking here in the US, but I truly love this recipe for mashed turnips. 

Recipe

   

· 3 white turnips

· 2 Yukon gold potatoes

· 2 cloves of garlic

· 1 cup shallot, red onion, and spring onion (¼, ¼, ½)

· 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

· 1 tablespoon salted butter

· ¼ cup whole milk

 

NOTE: This mashed turnips recipe is an amalgamation of numerous recipes I have prepared over the years.The primary inspirations are: Food & Wine's and Bon Appetit's recipes. I prefer more onion flavor than most recipes, and the recipe below reflects that preference.

1 Dice garlic, shallots, red onion, and spring onion. Set aside.

2 Peel turnips and potatoes then cut into 1" and 1/2" cubes respectively. Add to large pot of boiling water and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain.

3 Add milk and butter (both at room temperature) to pot and mash potatoes and turnips well while still leaving some lumps. Stir in garlic, shallots, red onion, spring onion, and olive oil thoroughly.

4 Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.