Turnip Au Gratin

After several weeks of greens, turnips are becoming a treat. For our fourth week, our CSA contained turnips, strawberries, scallions, swiss chard, radishes, lettuce, and napa cabbage. I didn't think turnips would be that great, but they have a surprisingly nice flavor. I adore potatoes, and turnips seem like a more flavorful, somewhat healthier alternative. We had much success with our turnip home fries so this time we decided to try a rather traditional turnip preparation. As many people do with potatoes, we made a turnip au gratin. We only got a small bunch of turnips this week so make sure to adjust your recipe if you have a more substantial amount.

Turnip Au Gratin


4 medium turnips (cleaned)
1 small onion
salt/pepper
dill
thyme
2 tbsp. butter
3/4 c. heavy cream
about 1 c. shredded asiago cheese

Using a mandoline or knife thinly slice the turnips and onion. In a small baking dish, take turns layering the turnips, onion, and spices. Put the butter on top. Put in a 450 degree oven covered for about 15 minutes to brown the turnips. Then add the cream and bake covered for 20-25 minutes or until the turnips are tender. Remove the cover and sprinkle the cheese on the top. Cook for about 10-15 minutes to melt the cheese.

As with our past turnip experience, the dish had a lot of flavor. To be honest anything tastes good with cream, butter, and cheese on top. The turnips were delicious but it was definitely a heavy dish. Next time we plan on using less cream and cheese. I think that will make the dish a bit more refreshing and light. For all you potato au gratin fans I would definitely suggest spicing up your usual recipe by adding turnips.