My DH made a delicious soup with fennel, kambocha squash, farro and kale. I thought it was from NYT cooking but I’m only finding similar things not that exact combo.
He also roast salmon on the fennel stalks.
As for turnips I’m not a fan, so I tend to smash them up with other veg or put them in curries.
My MIL cooked turnips for my FIL after he came home from being a POW in Germany in WWII. She said he threw the biggest fit ever and told her to NEVER COOK TURNIPS FOR HIM EVER AGAIN!
I guess as supplies dwindled at the end of the war, he had nothing but rotten potatoes and turnips to eat.
Personally I’m a fan of turnips too but know that not everyone is a fan. It can be made very fine—grated or into little noodles—that’s what they make a bed of at some fancy sushi restaurants and serve the raw fish atop. The grated turnip is good in tempura sauce and adds some mouth feel.
I like turnips in soups and stews, cubed (with other root veggies. My family isn’t as fond of them, which leaves more for me. Haha!
I get it BUT…cook them and mash with cooked carrots and lots of butter. Really good or as you might look at it, a way to get them down the hatch. We always have it for Thanksgiving. A tradition from hubby’s side.
The family I lived with in my gap year had similar turnip memories from the war, however Monsieur L still loved turnips, while Madame hated them. She grumbled about them every single time she served them, which from my POV was thankfully not that often. I can eat turnips, I just don’t care much for them.
I get a lot of turnips in my CSA box. I dice them up pretty small, sauté them in butter until soft, sprinkle on salt and for the last few minutes of cooking, add raisins to the pan. So good! You can add in the turnip greens too to get the extra nutrients.
H makes a fennel dish that is delicious – believe he got it from one of the Silver Palette books). Basically, quarter small red potatoes, trim fresh green beans and dice the fennel (he uses the entire thing), put on a cookie sheet and bake with olive oil, minced garlic and kosher salt. We usually put the potatoes and fennel in first, then add the green beans about halfway through and turn on the broiler at that point to crisp up the potatoes (the beans cook more quickly than the potatoes and fennel). Simple and yummy.
I put turnips and parsnips in my matzah ball soup. (I make my soup VERY stew-y.)
A friend of ours cooks apples and parsnips together, adding a bit of water and/or apple juice/cider and a dash of cinnamon, til it’s the consistency of chunky applesauce. YUM. H likes to add brown sugar, but that’s a bit much for me.
Well…tonight I roasted a mix of vegetable chunks…sweet potato, carrot, red onion, parsnip, and turnip. Drizzled with balsamic vinegar and a little olive oil. Recipe included a little bit of garlic and some smoky paprika. I added a small amount of maple syrup because someone here told me to add something sweet. Put chunks of sweet butter on top. Roasted at 450 for 40 minutes…until vegetables were caramelized, stirring halfway through. It was so delicious that we will make it again in the middle of the week!