Hello Rootabaga Subscribers,
Welcome to the first Rootabaga of December! To celebrate the exciting winter holiday season we’ll be featuring holiday recipes and meal ideas all month. To kick things off I’m sharing one of my favourite side dishes: Turnip Soufflé. While our family eats this for the whole turnip season, it’s a great way to freshen up the traditional Christmas side dish of mashed turnip. For your Rootabaga this week we’ve included enough turnip (conventionally grown at Noggins Corner Farm) to make 1 soufflé, and the small share also has:
Sweet Potatoes – Elmridge Farm, spray free
Red Cabbage – Taproot Farm, Certified Organic
Kale – Elmridge Farm, spray free
Leeks – Elmridge Farm, spray free
Beets – Elmridge Farm, spray free
Ambrosia Apples – Noggins Corner Farm, conventionally grown
The large has all of the above plus:
Cluster Tomatoes – Stokdijk Greenhouses, conventionally grown
And larger portions of sweet potatoes, leeks, beets, and red cabbage
The turnip soufflé recipe is as delicious as it is versatile. It can be made with all turnips, but it’s also great with a bit of sweet potato or other root vegetables substituted in. Here is the recipe I use:
- Ingredients for soufflé:
- 6 cups turnip, peeled and cubed small (or 4 cups turnips, 2 cups sweet potato)
- 2 tablespoons soft butter
- 2 eggs, beaten (eggs can be omitted for a vegan version but the end texture is more mash than soufflé, but still delicious)
- 3 tablespoons flour (you can substitute an all purpose gluten-free flour or cornstarch if need be)
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
- Pinch of nutmeg
- Topping Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- ½ cup bread crumbs (or ground almonds for a gluten free option - I prefer it with the almonds as the nuttiness goes really well with it, but both work well)
- Grease a 9.5” x 13.5” casserole dish, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Boil the turnips in water until fork tender, Drain well. Mash then mix in butter and eggs. Beat well.
- Separately, mix the dry ingredients. Then use a spatula to gently fold them into the turnip mixture. Pour into the greased casserole dish.
- Combine bread crumbs or ground nuts with the melted butter. Sprinkler over the souffle mixture.
- Bake for about 25 minutes or until the top of the soufflé lightly browns.
That’s it! An easy, basic turnip recipe that makes me excited for turnip season every year. The texture is so smooth and rich, and the crumb topping adds the perfect amount of crunch. I’ve often brought this for holiday potlucks, and at home I’ll serve it with our favourite sausage and kale chips.
If kale chips are new to you I highly recommend giving them a try! Use this method: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/176957/baked-kale-chips/ and get creative with flavours! I love nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper. Garlic salt is also really good. They’re a great side, appetizer, or snack.
Another frequently eaten side dish in our house is coleslaw. I love the colour that red cabbage adds to this classic salad. Sometimes we make it creamy with mayo, sometimes a simple apple cider vinegar and maple syrup vinaigrette, or as an Asian style slaw with sesame oil, mayo, soy sauce, and a bit of brown sugar. Shredded carrot and onion are tasty additions too.
We also use creamy coleslaw as a burger topping in the winter months when fresh greens are less readily available.
Lastly, 1 of the beets from this week’s Rootabaga should be thrown into hummus! Simply peel and boil 1 small to medium sized beet and blend it in with your favourite hummus recipe. It turns the hummus a beautiful colour and makes a great snack or lunch option. I love beet hummus spread thickly on a hearty bread like the Bear River Farms Biodynamic Rye Bread, with some sliced cucumber, microgreens, and salt and pepper.
Thank you for joining us for another round of Rootabaga produce subscriptions! We love bagging up farm fresh produce and sending it off, knowing it’s going to a good home.
Until next week folks!
Robin
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