(no subject)

[ann_leckie]

We had dinosaur with forty cloves of garlic for supper, which is always good.

We also had turnips. I had never had turnips before, though of course I'd read about turnips, and turnip trucks, &c. And for some reason I was really curious today, so when I went to get milk, I also got turnips.

They were pretty good. Paidhi Girl asserted herself and claimed the last few in the serving bowl, before Mr. Cameron could do it. Everyone agreed that it would be nice to have turnips for supper again sometime.

"So," I say, "I wonder what parsnips taste like."

"You were lucky the turnip thing came out well," said Mr. Cameron. "Don't push it."

Comments

[teratologist.livejournal.com]

I wonder what parsnips taste like.

They're actually not unlike carrots. Only pale, of course.

Also recommended: Jerusalem artichokes, aka 'sunchokes'.

[ann-leckie.livejournal.com]

how do you cook (and eat) them?

[teratologist.livejournal.com]

Parsnips can be cooked similarly to carrots, only cook them longer and cut them up a little smaller. If they're very fresh, you can also julienne and fry them.

Sunchokes can be eaten raw in salad (they're a bit similar to water chestnuts that way) or peeled, boiled, and mashed with a little butter.

[ann-leckie.livejournal.com]

ooh, thank you! I'll have to be on the lookout for sunchokes. I saw parsnips next to the turnips today....maybe we'll have some tomorrow!

[teratologist.livejournal.com]

Fun fact - the sunchoke is actually the tuber from a native North American species of sunflower.

[sarah-prineas.livejournal.com]

I've always thought turnips were particularly good with dinosaur.

Cheers!

[ann-leckie.livejournal.com]

That they are! :) (I didn't spoil the nice supper by calling it dinosaur in Paidhi Girl's hearing--she's still offended by the idea that birds are dinosaurs.)

[chomiji]

I always think that turnips are like parsnips only not as nice ... I'm used to having parsnips in soup. My late mother's beef barley mushroom soup always included sliced carrots and parsnips along with the titular ingredients. Parsnips are carrot-ish with a little hint of the earthier, more bitter turnip taste. They should be cooked pretty throughly.

[ann-leckie.livejournal.com]

Ah, thank you! I bet parsnips would go over well!

[carl-allery.livejournal.com]

I've only had parsnips roasted, which are jolly nice. Can't say turnips do it for me though. I prefer swede, mashed in butter with plenty of black pepper. :)

[geek-chorus.livejournal.com]

Mmm ... can't have too much garlic.

I happen to like parsnips. They're sweet like carrots, only not so crunchy.

[the-resa.livejournal.com]

So - share the turnip recipe already!
I've never had turnips before. But Parsnips are very good in soups.

[ann-leckie.livejournal.com]

LOL

I made chicken with forty cloves of garlic. Basically, I take a head of garlic--maybe more! and separate it and peel off the really papery parts. I put them in a pie pan with a dollop of olive oil and some salt, cover it with foil and shake it around, and put it in the oven--325, 350 or so--for about ten minutes. Shake it, give it another ten minutes. Shake it, uncover it, put it back in for five or so minutes.

Meanwhile I brown the chicken and open a couple cans of chicken stock. Browned chicken, stock, and roasted garlic (still basically unpeeled) go in a skillet with a lid.

At this point, I peeled the turnips and quartered them (or so, depending on size) and tossed them in the pan along with the garlic and the chicken. Put the lid on. Simmer, simmer.

So when it's done, put the chicken on a plate, take out the turnips and put them in a bowl, pour the stock and garlic through a sieve into the degreaser-thingy. The garlic gets pushed into the screen of the sieve with a spoon or a spatula, with the skillet underneath to get all the garlic--all the peel stuff stays on the inside of the sieve. Pour the degreased stock back into the pan, turn the fire back on, reduce a bit, and it's what Paidhi Girl calls "garlic gravy." You could probably thicken it with cornstarch or flour if you wanted.

So the turnips were basically pretty plain, with Mr. Cameron thinking they needed salt. I thought salt and butter would be good, myself.

YUM!

[the-resa.livejournal.com]

I am a BIG garlic person! One the first things I ever grew in my garden was elephant garlic, and I can eat the things forever roasted and spread on crusty bread. So this sounds fantastic!

However, people don't seem to like me so well in person the day after one of my garlic binges. Can't imagine why. (grins evily)

Thanks so much for the recipe!