Goat Cheese Mashed Turnips

Every Thanksgiving when my mom starts delegating dishes, we all smirk when Popie volunteers his mashed turnips. On any average day, most people aren't going to want mashed turnips, so when they're on the table at Thanksgiving along with a dozen other delicious sides, it's just sad. Popie ends up taking home 90% of the turnips, he and Grandma being the only ones who took a small scoop. 

When I got turnips three weeks in a row in my CSA share, I felt like I should take it upon myself to make an honorable mashed turnip recipe. After browsing some websites and finding 5-star recipes, I learned the secret to liking turnips... 1 pound of butter! While I did recently profess my love of (a small pat) butter in dishes, I couldn't stomach a stick or two, so I decided to make something up on the fly. 

I pulled out the cheese drawer - because that's how you make any vegetable desirable - and settled on goat cheese! I also had a few small new potatoes left over from another recipe, so I took a shot with this and it came out really well! We enjoyed these turnips with lentil-loaf and green beans. 

Goat Cheese Mashed Turnips

Veggie by Season original

2 lbs. turnips, peeled and quartered 

1/2 lb. new potatoes, peeled and quartered

Kosher salt and black pepper
4 oz. goat cheese
2 tbsp. butter
Fresh herbs, chopped (like rosemary, thyme, basil or tarragon)

Place turnips and potatoes in a pot, fill with cold water until vegetables are covered.
Heat over high, bring to a boil, add a pinch of salt, then turn to low and simmer for 15 minutes, or until turnips are very tender.
Drain well, place back in the pot, add goat cheese, butter and a hearty grind of black pepper.
Using a potato masher or hand mixer, begin mashing until turnips reach desired consistency.
Taste, adjust salt and pepper.
Pour into a dish and garnish with herbs and another grind of pepper.

Roasted Vegetable Salad with Lemon Rosemary Vinaigrette

On Tuesday afternoon, my sister and her husband welcomed Evan Henry to the world. I am so excited for them, for our family, and to be an Aunt! I'm so lucky and happy that my sisters and I are as close as we are. I was able to really feel like a part of Kris' pregnancy even though I'm 1000+ miles away. While technology can be annoying - and even unsafe, it also provided me with labor-update texts, emails with photos, and even video camera chatting. While I'm jealous of some of my friends who skype their grandparents and mine can barely work their cell phone, it's probably better Grandma can't skype. I still call them often, but sometimes less is more - haha.

I was never much of a turnip girl. My Popie's Thanksgiving specialty is mashed turnips. I bet you can guess what dish produces the most leftovers... With Thanksgiving on my mind (when I'll get to finally meet Evan!), so were the turnips. See, I've only ever had them once in my life, when I made this Roasted Vegetable, Barley and Lentil salad. I considered making it, but I planned to pair it with veggie burgers and wanted a less starchy side. I thought about tossing roasted vegetables with a spring salad, but decided to just skip it all together, and make a roasted root vegetable based salad with a light vinaigrette and some traditional salad toppers. I think my favorite part of this dish is the rutabaga, but really, they are all so delicious together! If you want to keep all of the vegetables from turning red, roast the beets separately, but they're bound to stain the others eventually.

Roasted Root Vegetable Salad with Rosemary Lemon Vinaigrette

1 lb. beets, peeled and diced

1 large rutabaga, peeled and diced

2-3 turnips, peeled and diced

3 large carrots, peeled and sliced

3 large parsnips, peeled and diced

1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced

1/4 c. walnuts, toasted

1/4 c. goat cheese, crumbled

1 tbsp. EVOO

vinaigrette:

juice of 1 lemon

1 tbsp. honey

1 tsp. fresh minced rosemary

2 tbsp. red wine vine vinegar

1 shallot, minced

1/4 c. EVOO

kosher salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400*

Trim, peel, and dice all root vegetables.

Arrange on a foil lined baking sheet drizzled with EVOO.

Toss with salt and pepper, cover with additional foil.

Roast for 30 minutes, uncover and roast for another 15 minutes, or until tender.

Roast an additional 15 minutes if you want vegetables to caramelize.

In a small dish, whisk together dressing ingredients.

Arrange vegetables in a bowl, drizzle with dressing, top with goat cheese and walnuts. 

Serve warm.

Barley, Lentils and Roasted Root Vegetables

When I saw this recipe pop up in my google reader last week, I was immediately drawn to it. I love roasted vegetables, and I also had half a bag of barley on hand. I love making salads like this, the kind that can be served hot or cold, and can have interchangable ingredients depending on what's on hand. The only addition I really made to this recipe was lentils for protein.

I was on the fence about parsnips in the past, but this recipe changed my mind about them, and I now can say I enjoy parsnips!

Barley, Lentils and Roasted Root Vegetables

adapted from Cate, based on a recipe by David Lebovitz

1 cup pearled barley
1 cup lentils
5 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
1 bay leaf
2 lbs mixed root vegetables, cut into 1/2″ dice
(I used 1 medium butternut squash, 4 parsnips, 4 carrots, 1 large turnip, 1 medium rhutabega)
1 red onion, diced
2 tbsp. olive oil
A few sprigs fresh thyme
Zest and juice from a grapefruit (or orange, lemon, etc.)
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup dried cranberries


Preheat the oven to 425 F.
Bring water to a boil in a stock pot, add the salt, bay leaf, barley and lentils.
Simmer, until the barley and lentils are tender, about 35 minutes.
Toss the vegetables, onion, 1 tbsp. olive oil, thyme, a few pinches of salt and a few grinds of black pepper and spread on a sheet pan (I used 2 sheet pans).
Roast for about 30 minutes, stirring once or twice, rotating pans from top to bottom, if using two.
Drain the barley and lentils, if there is residual water, remove bay leaf.
Whisk together the zest, juice, vinegar and another tbsp. of olive oil.
Add the barley, lentils, cranberries and vegetables.
Toss gently to mix.
Taste and adjust the seasonings.
Serve at room temperature, garnished with a few sprigs of fresh thyme.

*Cate's recipe also called for walnuts, which would have been a delicious addition, but I did not have any on hand, next time I would add them for a bit of crunch and texture.