Saturday, January 24, 2009

TURNIPS WITH BUTTERY CHANTERELLE MUSHROOM STUFFING

Who eats turnips? We never did when I was a kid, and as far as I know, none of my friends mom's made them either.  I never even tasted a turnip -- that I know of -- until I was in my 30's.  They're not bad. Nothing special in my opinion, but not bad. I guess most people just mash them? Personally, I'd rather have mashed potatoes. 

There is a very nice restaurant in Los Angeles called Providence. It is the first, and so far only, place I have ever had a delicious turnip. They took baby turnips and stuffed them with mushroom stuffing. It was so unique tasting, and so fantastic that every time I see a turnip now I think of Providence. 


Here is a similar preparation...

Get the smallest turnips you can find. 

I use an apple core tool and carve out the center. If they don't stand up well, which most won't, cut a small slice off the bottom so they have a flat surface to stand on and don't roll around spilling the stuffing. 
 
The stuffing will be done before the turnips, so I suggest steaming them for about 5-10 minutes until they are about 1/2 cooked. Be careful not to overcook them, we just need a little head start so they are cooked through when done. I find they overcook easily. You can go from hard to mush in very little time, so just keep checking them with a fork and you want them to be softened a bit, but definitely still firm.  

I took one large Chanterelle mushroom and cut it into a very small dice, along with 2 large cloves of garlic. Then I melted about 4 tablespoons of butter and sauteed them until the garlic was cooked and fragrant. 

Once the garlic and mushrooms were brown, I added some salt, pepper and enough bread crumbs to bring the stuffing together. 

I stuffed the turnips......

And baked at 350 for about 30 minutes until the stuffing was brown and crispy.