Turnips au Gratin
On October 27, 2020 by Eliz
I’ve covered this before in my Scalloped Potatoes au Gratin recipe found here. Most people think “au gratin” means with cheese. It actually is a culinary term that means the dish is topped with cheese and bread crumbs. In point of fact, I omitted the bread crumbs because I wanted a carb-restricted side dish, and this was my creation to accompany an entree of Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, the recipe of which is found here. The turnips were cooked to a softness resembling potatoes and the nuttiness of the Gruyere cheese was a perfect companion to the acidic richness of the tomatoes in the cabbage dish. I used a cast iron skillet to seamlessly move from stove-top to oven. You will need a mandolin slicer to cut the turnips, an example of which is seen here.
Don’t attempt to cut the turnips with a knife. Unlike potatoes, they
are much more dense and difficult to thinly slice without this
indispensable kitchen appliance. With thanks to my Number One Fan for
adapting this from a 2013 download from the Tasty Kitchen website, and
she tinkered with it quite a lot. I made a few further tweaks.
Ingredients
4 whole medium to large sized turnips
1 cup Fontina cheese, shredded
1 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded
3-4 slices non-smoked Provolone cheese
1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs (or substitute grated Parmesan, like the Kraft green can)
4-6 tbsp butter
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup chicken stock (like, Swanson’s or Kitchen Basics)
Mrs. Dash Garlic Herb Blend
salt & pepper
The Recipe
Wash and peel the turnips with a vegetable peeler after removing the cap and foot. Run each turnip through the mandolin slicer so you have evenly thin slices.
Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.
In an oven-proof skillet (or cast iron skillet), melt the butter over medium high heat. Make a layer of turnips by laying them side by side, slightly overlapping. Lay out the Fontina cheese evenly over the turnips.
Drizzle 1/4 cup of cream and a splash of chicken stock over the cheese, then dust it with the Mrs. Dash Garlic Herb Blend. If you don’t have Mrs. Dash, use a combination of garlic powder, onion powder, and dried thyme. Finish with a pinch of salt and a fair amount of freshly cracked black pepper.
Repeat the layers of turnips, cream, chicken stock and seasonings using the Gruyere and then the Provolone. Finish with a fourth layer of turnips, et al, using the shredded Parmesan cheese.
Top it off with the bread crumbs or the grated Parmesan Cheese. If you use bread crumbs, melt two tablespoons of butter in the microwave, and mix it in with the bread crumbs before putting on top of the casserole.
Bake for 50 minutes to an hour until brown and bubbly on top. Let it sit 5-10 minutes before serving and the easiest way to do that is to cut slices out of the skillet and serve it like you would a pie.
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