Showing posts with label Turnips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Turnips. Show all posts

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.