I don’t cook a lot with turnips and I was wondering what I’d do with the turnips that I had bought for variation’s sake. I decided to turn them into a risotto, and it turned out wonderful. This is not a traditional Italian dish that I know of, but just a demonstration that you can make a great tasting risotto from just about anything using the basic recipe for risotto, fresh ingredients and a good homemade stock. We really love risotto and I usually prepare some type of risotto at least once a week. Since making risotto the traditional way requires a bit of time (about 45 minutes if you already have the stock), this is usually something reserved for the weekend (which luckily includes Friday as I don’t work on Fridays).
Ingredients
For 2 servings
2 turnips (about 450 grams / 1 lb)
1 shallot, chopped
130 grams (2/3 cup) risotto rice
500 ml (2 cups) homemade vegetable stock
4 Tbsp butter
80 ml (1/3 cup) dry white wine
salt and freshly ground white pepper
4 Tbsp freshly grated parmigiano reggiano
1 Tbsp chopped fresh flatleaf parsley
Preparation
Wash and dry the turnips. Cut off the top. Cut into 1.5 cm (1/2 “) cubes.
Heat 2 Tbsp butter in a heavy-bottomed frying pan. Add the turnip cubs and season with a bit of salt.
Sauté until the turnips start to become tender, about 5-10 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring the vegetable stock to a boil and immediately reduce the heat to a mere simmer.
Move the turnips to a plate or bowl using a slotted spoon. (You can also leave them in the pan while you toast the rice, but this makes it easier to toast it properly.)
Melt another tablespoon of butter in the pan and add the shallot. Sauté for a few minutes until translucent.
Add the rice and toast for a few minutes until the rice is very hot and translucent at the edges.
Add the white wine and stir until most of it has evaporated.
Add a ladle of the hot stock.
Put the turnips back into the pan. Keep adding stock, one ladle at the time, and keep stirring until you have used up all of the stock and the rice is al dente. (Taste to test this.) This takes about 16 minutes. If you run out of stock, continue with hot water.
Turn off the heat. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter in small cubes, half the parmigiano and parsley.
Stir to mix. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and freshly ground white pepper. Let this stand for a few minutes.
Serve on warm plates with the remaining parmigiano and parsley.
Never thought of the humble turnip for risotto. This must be excellent. Very earthy? BTW, I cooked a mushroom stuffed leg of lamb. I used porcini as one of the mushrooms, reserving the liquor. I made the gravy on it. It was amazingly good. Thanks for the earlier tip. Post to follow.
Earthy is probably a good way to describe it. Glad your lamb turned out so well. There is a lot of flavor in porcini soaking liquid — also great for risotto!
Very few Americans eat turnips. I grew up on them so I am super excited to find another fan. Usually stating I like turnips is met by stares and dismay. Love the idea!
Hi, Stefan. Lovely post, as usual. I’ve never considered turnips in risotto. We like turnips but use them in a mash or with their greens and some bacon as a nice side dish. You’re always very creative in your approach. Gotta love it.
Thanks. Turnips are not very common around here, unlike kohlrabi that are similar but not quite the same. I think I prefer turnips.
As many times as I’ve enjoyed turnip greens, i really cannot remember the last time I ate the turnip bulb. This does look good, though, Stefan. Well done.
Thanks, John!
Canadians eat turnips, and rutabagas, too. I love them, especially in winter when local veggies are scarce. It’s rice I don’t like much, unless its wild rice or brown nutty rice. I wonder if you can make risotto with these sorts of grains? I’m especially into whole grains this month
You can definitely make risotto with those sorts of grains, but I have never tried it. I’m sure you can find recipes with google.
Hi Stephan. You mention that this is not an Italian dish but there is a variation: turnip, rice and parmesan soup. I made this a few weeks ago and it was fabulous. I was just about to turn it into a risotto myself but you beat me to it. Lovely post!
Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment. I had not heard of that soup but it does indeed sound very similar.
This is great! Risotto is a go to dish for us at our house. It is easy to make and always tasty. I taught my 11 year old to make it recently so now she can make it for us. Even better!
Great idea! It does take quite a bit of stirring. There are some food processors that can cook risotto, but they are quite expensive.