January 9, 2009

Turnip Slaw Anyone?


Have you ever eaten a fresh turnip?
To me raw fresh turnips, much like beets, taste like dirt smells. Turnips in my opinion also taste like cabbage. Did you know the turnip is a member of the mustard family and is related to cabbage and cauliflower?

We have a few turnips left, decided I really needed to start using them up. Normally would make mashed turnips & potatoes (aka neeps & tatties) or peel and quarter to add to pot roasts or boiled dinners. This time around I decided to go for Turnip Slaw. Have cabbage though am holding on to the heads of green goodness for eggrolls, stuffed cabbage rolls, stir fry, etc. Didn't want to waste a partial head on slaw.

I have learned over the years how to rid the turnip of that essence of dirt taste is to soak in salt water. The salt seems to draw the earthy bitterness out. I clean, peel and half the turnips then soak in saltwater overnight. Rinse, drain and dry off.
I then grate the turnips and mix with a simple vinegar dressing:
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup vinegar
To Taste-
Salt
Sugar
Pepper
You could also add celery or caraway seed and a bit of grated carrot for color.
I have tried different oils and vinegars in slaw recipes, whatever you may have on hand should work fine.
The critters also love the greens and peels during the winter.

5 comments:

Mary Humphrey said...

Jama, when I was a child I loved visiting my aunt's farm in Missouri. My agenda included visiting the pigs, cows, and the chickens, and I always requested a fresh turnip from the garden! They are wonderful!

Joanna@BooneDocksWilcox said...

I don't know that I've ever eaten a turnip. Sure would like to try 'em.

For beets, I use equal amounts of:
sugar (Splenda in our case)
apple cider vinegar

Your recipe looks good

Anonymous said...

Interesting stuff, we like turnips in mashed potatoes here though.

Jennifer said...

I tried a turnip once as a kid, it had that bitter dirt taste and I didn't like it so I haven't tried one since. I think I might just try them again, but using your suggestion of soaking them first. Thanks!

DayPhoto said...

I printed this out and I am going to have some this week end! Thank you!

Linda

By the way, I love turnips! So this is good.

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