Turnips have an amazing ambidextrous quality and are great in just about every application: blistered, grilled, fermented, poached, seared, steamed—and, especially, raw. Given their high water content, the naturally present sugars caramelize remarkably well, and the turnip’s smooth cell structure gives us perfect lines with the knife. From the lightest, most delicate applications to the loudest and most intense, the turnip can definitely show up and represent.
At the Bar: Cheese Dip and Crudites
This combination is always welcome in the bar. Here, we lightly steam and dry the turnip before dipping it into a gelee of Taleggio cream.
Fine Dining: The Humble Turnip
This is a dish for Steelite International’s new bone china by Rene Ozorio. We opted to use the humble turnip in this dish to show how anything can be elevated with attention and respect.
Country Club Dining: Caramelized Turnip Puree
This is a valuable weapon in our arsenal of applications with vegetables, and the recipe is in the book The Chef’s Garden: A Modern Guide to Common and Unusual Vegetables—With Recipes. This dish is also excellent with parsnips, sunchoke, and celery root.
More About Turnips
We invite you to explore these dishes and more using the marvelous turnip. Options at The Chef’s Garden include:
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White turnips: sweet, mild, and slightly salty
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White trimmed turnips: the same amazing flavor
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Mixed turnips: best-of-the-day mix that may include pink, white, and purple varieties
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Royal purple turnips: sweet at the beginning
We hope you enjoyed this installment of Food Plating Techniques!