All Hail the Turnip

Hello!

This week's bag features turnips from one of our long-time farmers, David Yoder. I've worked with David since the beginning of Fresh Fork, and he's been one of the most willing to grow root vegetables for us to use throughout the winter. We've found this to be a better success with him versus other crops like lettuce, that require cooling and refrigeration in the summer. Because David is a Swartzentruber Amish, he doesn't have access to electricity or refrigeration. This poses a challenging for taking the field heat out of certain crops and keeping the product chilled. On the other hand, his produce facility is built for the elements, part underground and shaded to keep root crops at the right temperature for storage without the use of electricity. This is the last of the turnips until the mid-summer varieties come back.

In honor of the last of the turnips, we're sharing a recipe for a classic, old-school turnip side dish -- Turnip Timbale. While the instructions are lengthy, it's actually a pretty simple recipe. The "hardest" part of the process is sweating the turnips, which really just takes time to get the pungent, peppery flavor to subside.

The "timbale" is simply the presentation. The idea is to create individual portions that can be plated for a fancy presentation. If you don't have individual ramekins, you can use a baking dish instead for a larger serving.

Part I: Sweat the Turnips

Start with 3-4 medium turnips , peeled and shredded. A good way to measure the amount of shredded turnip to use is to fill the ramekins or gratin dish to the top. The shredded turnip will reduce considerably in the sweating process.

Heat 2-3 tablespoons of butter in a non-stick saucepan over low-medium heat . Add the shredded turnips. Use a rubber spatula to turn the turnips over and over. This will take quite a bit of time over medium low. The idea is to evaporate moisture from the turnips and not to add any color.

Meanwhile, chop a small onion and a couple cloves of garlic into small, fine pieces. Mince two tablespoons of parsley leaves.

Add the onion, garlic and parsley to the sweating turnips

This process may take up to an hour. Continue to turn the shredded turnips over and over. Press down with the spatula. Don’t hurry (or turn up the heat if you think the process is taking too long) as the turnips might burn. Not a pleasant taste.

Season the turnip mixture with salt and pepper and add a dash of nutmeg if you have it.

Part II: Basically, just make a béchamel with eggs and cheese…

3 TBS flour

1 cup milk

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/3 cup grated hard cheese, like Flat Rock

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Whisk in the flour. Once the flour and butter are combined, add the milk. Stir in slowly, and whisk until the béchamel thickens. Parker's version includes added dried thyme in this step.

Remove from the heat. Whisk in the eggs and the cheese. Season well with salt and pepper.

If you are going to make individual ramekins, butter the bottom of the dishes. Cut a circle of parchment paper to cover the bottom of each ramekin and then butter the paper. If you are using a larger gratin baking dish, you don't need the paper and you can serve directly from this dish. The individual ramekins are just for presentation.

Stir in the sweated turnip mixture with the béchamel. Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.

Fill the ramekins/baking dish with the mixture. Tap the ramekins on the counter to make sure there are no air holes. Bake for about 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven. Rest them for 4-5 minutes. Turn ramekins upside down onto the plate. Remove the paper and sprinkle with minced parsley (optional). If you used a larger dish, you can serve directly from the dish.

Happy Timbale Making!

-Trevor and the FFM Team

Early Bird Ends March 14

Last call for Early Bird pricing! Mail your payment ASAP or bring it with you when you pick up your bag this week.

Small Share -- $605 upfront ($27.50/bag)

Large Share - $935 upfront ($42.50/bag)

Mini Share - $660 upfront ($30/bag)

Chicken Stock

Last week you received the pre-made version for ramen week, and now it's your turn to make Chicken Stock for future use. All you need is a large pot, chicken backs (included in the Omnivore bag) and aromatics like onion, parsley, celery, carrots, bay leaves, and peppercorns.

Depending on how much time you have, you can incorporate steps 1 & 2. If you're tight on time, these steps can be skipped, and you can just put the chicken backs right into the pot and start boiling the water.

First break down chicken backs into 2-inch pieces. Heat oil in the bottom of your stock pot and lightly brown the chicken pieces. This is an important step to add flavor.
You can deglaze the pot with wine or simply add in your rough chopped aromatics and water to fill.
Put the chicken backs + aromatics into a large pot of water and bring it to a boil. Once you've reached a rolling boil, lower the heat to bring it back down to a simmer for 4-6 hours. Occasionally skim the top to remove scum. Add water as needed if the level goes below the bones.
Strain the solids from the liquid and use the delicious, nutritious stock in soup or freeze for later.

If you don't have the time to wait for it on the stove-top, this process can be shortened in a Crock Pot or Instant Pot.

More tips/techniques can be found HERE .

We find that the Velvet View Yogurt containers are the perfect size for storing in the freezer. The stock will last for months in the freezer. If you store it in the refrigerator, it will last for 1-2 weeks. If you find it was moved to the back and you forgot about it, you can bring it back to life by re-boiling and straining it.