Happy Turnip Day!

Grape Harvest month has so far celebrated two vegetables I am not a great fan of – parsnips and now, turnips. I know there will be a lot of pushback on this, so I have taken the challenge proposed by Julia Child in Mastering the Art of French Cooking. In the intro to navets a la champenoise (turnip casserole) she says, “People who disdain the turnip almost invariably revise their opinion after tasting this dish.” We’ll see, Julia!

I will point out that an idiomatic use of “navet” is a flop. As in, “I saw that show and it was un navet.”

Turnip Casserole

2 1/2 lbs of turnips

1/4 lb of bacon, cut into pieces

1 tbs butter

2/3 cup finely diced onions

1 tbs flour

3/4 cup beef stock

1/4 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp fresh sage

1 tbs minced parsley

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and begin peeling the turnips. Quarter the turnips and boil for ten minutes. Remove from the water. In a separate pan, cook the bacon in 1 tablespoon of butter. When the bacon is lightly browned, add in the diced onion. Cook the onion for 5 minutes, then add the flour and cook for 2 more minutes. Add the beef stock, sugar, salt and pepper to taste and sage. Bring to a simmer and add the turnips. Cover the pan and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve. Enjoy?