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Parmesan roasted turnips

Updated: Wed, 27 November, 2024

⯆ JUMP TO RECIPE
Roasted Parmesan turnips flavoured with thyme and rosemary are a delicious and less common winter or festive side dish. Handle them just like potatoes: first boil, then roast.

parmesan roasted turnips cuisinefiend.com

Turnip vs. swede

They are not the same vegetable! I know what you thought, and I thought the same for years: that those pinky white ones were just a baby version of the burly grey ones.

It is not the case, so let’s do some justice unto turnips, the white and purplish one and swedes, big brown, and yellow inside. They are in the same plant family, and swedes are Swedish turnips, whatever that means – but a different vegetable altogether.

And to make things even more confusing, swedes are known as rutabaga in the USA, and neeps in Scotland.

turnips cuisinefiend.com

Boring as turnip

Both swedes and turnips are, admittedly, quite a far cry from trendy vegetables, with the possible exception of swede around Halloween time.

But if we eat the seasons like we should, the seasonal stuff in the bleak November – or indeed coming up to Christmas – will be some truly lovely winter root vegetables including turnips. Not only are they cheap; also sticking to what’s in season, plentiful and air mile-free makes you appreciate those green shoots of asparagus, come May. Turnips are a perfect side for your Christmas lunch, believe me.

And they are quite delightful prepared as below, zinged with a dash of Parmesan and roasted with herbs.

roasted turnips with rosemary salt cuisinefiend.com

Rosemary salt

The magic ingredient in this recipe is rosemary salt, and though you might initially think it’s not worth ruining your coffee grinder for it, trust me: it is. The grinder won’t be ruined anyway because it’s easy enough to clean it: wipe thoroughly with paper towels, then do a purge-grind.

For instance, before making the rosemary salt, process a small amount of coarse salt to get rid of the coffee residue. Then fill it with roughly chopped rosemary needles picked off the sprigs with a spoonful of coarse salt and pulse a couple of times. Decant it into an airtight little jar and transform the future potatoes, lamb and fish.

making rosemary salt cuisinefiend.com

Once finished with rosemary, clean the grinder again by milling and discarding some coffee, to purge the receptacle and blades.

And if you don’t have one, they cost from £15 or thereabouts, which opens up a world of grinding to you: not just coffee or rosemary but spices, nuts and seeds too.

rosemary salt cuisinefiend.com

Do turnips need preboiling?

They do need preboiling, just like potatoes do for roasting. Peeled and quartered, plunged into a pan of salted boiling water, they won’t take longer than 12-15 minutes.

Jab one with a pointy knife and if it goes in fairly easily – they’re done.

preboiling turnips cuisinefiend.com

How to roast turnips

Once drained, in the pan, the turnip chunks can be tossed with the magic rosemary salt, thyme and a half of the grated Parmesan. Add to that butter and olive oil making sure they are coated, then turn them out onto a baking tray and slip into the oven.

seasoning turnips cuisinefiend.com

They will take about 40 minutes to go golden and crisp around the edges. They are already cooked of course so it’s the case of how crisp and how golden you want them.

roasting turnips cuisinefiend.com

Halfway through gently shake the tray and toss them about unless you’re a sad person like me who will turn over every wedge with tongs. Add more Parmesan while turning or tossing them, reserving some for serving.

parmesan turnips with thyme and rosemary cuisinefiend.com

More winter vegetable recipes

Beetroot gratin, thinly sliced beets baked in garlic and dill infused cream, a gorgeous side to a fish course. No need to pre-cook the beetroot.

Brussels sprouts cooked two ways: sprout tops with almonds and crispy roasted Brussels sprouts. This is the perfect recipe for when you purchase one of those mighty impressive Brussels sticks!

Five-spice butternut squash in cheesy custard, with orange rayu (Japanese chilli oil) is precisely the treatment the squash needs to be a great dish. No surprise, it’s a recipe from Ottolenghi.

More Parmesan-zinged recipes

Green beans with Parmesan cream, a creamy casserole of green beans in cheese sauce. The Parmesan cream is easier to make than thermidor or mornay sauce and can easily replace either in a variety of dishes.

Soufflé omelette with Parmesan is like a fluffy, savoury meringue that you can have for breakfast. Another way to have your eggs in the morning!

Lamb rack in Parmesan crust flavoured with rosemary and lemon zest, roasted to medium rare or medium, deliciously juicy and tender. Low temperature roasting works brilliantly in this recipe.

christmas turnips cuisinefiend.com



Parmesan roasted turnips

Servings: 4Time: 1 hour 25 minutes

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 kg (2 pounds) small turnips
  • a few sprigs of thyme
  • 5-6 sprigs of rosemary
  • 1 tsp coarse salt plus more to prepare coffee grinder
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 2 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan


METHOD

1. Peel the turnips and cut them into quarters. Place in a pan of boiling salted water and cook for about 10-15 minutes, until just tender. Drain and keep warm. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas 6. Pick the thyme leaves off the sprigs.

2. If you want to make rosemary salt, process some salt in your coffee grinder to clean it from coffee residue (use spice grinder if you have one). Strip the rosemary needles off the sprigs and chop roughly. Pulse it with a teaspoon of coarse salt to a powder, store surplus in a tightly sealed container. Alternatively, chop the rosemary as fine as you can and stir in some fine salt.

3. Toss the cooked turnips gently in the pan with the olive oil and butter, 2 tsp of the rosemary salt, the thyme leaves and half the grated Parmesan.

4. Turn the turnips out onto a baking tray and roast for about 40 minutes, until crisp and caramelised. Turn them over halfway through and add more Parmesan. Serve immediately.

Originally published: Sat, 5 December, 2015


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Your comments

Anna @ CuisineFiend
Hi Angelique - about a tablespoon of each. Also depends how many turnips you're cooking, of course.
4 years ago
Angelique
How much oil and butter does this recipe need? It doesn't really say an amount. Or just wing it?
4 years ago
1 

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