[Sca-cooks] period mashed turnips

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

I don't have a recipe for mashed turnips, but i cooked this somewhat
OOP recipe at my first feast, the Boar Hunt in 2000 and some people
who didn't like turnips said they liked it... It's incredibly simple,
but quite tasty.

My thanks to Anne-Marie Rousseau (of this list) for sharing this
recipe with me.

I have since cooked turnips in milk after first par-boiling briefly
in water. This seemed to remove the bitterness to which some people
object. I didn't do this for the recipe below and i thought they were
good.

Anahita

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Original from "Le Cuisinier francois", (by) la Varenne, French, 1654
Turnips. Scrape them, blanche them, and seethe them with water,
butter and salt; after they are [cooked] enough, put them in a dish
with very fresh butter, you may put in some mustard; serve with
nutmeg.


Turnips in Butter and Mustard Sauce
Serves 4 to 8

4 whole Turnips
Water
Salt
1/4 lb. Butter
1/4 cup prepared Dijon Mustard
1 hearty pinch grated Nutmeg

1. Peel turnips and slice thickly in rounds.
2. Parboil by dropping turnips into boiling water to cover for a few
minutes. Drain.
3. Then place turnips in fresh boiling water to cover with some salt
and boil until quite tender. Drain well.
4. Place turnip slices in baking dish.
5. Place butter and mustard in a sauce pan and cook on medium-low
heat just until butter is melted, stirring from time to time to blend
and to prevent burning. (I suppose this could be done in a microwave,
but i don't have one and so rarely use one)
6. Pour mustard sauce over turnips in baking dish, making sure all
turnips have some sauce on them.
7. Sprinkle lightly with nutmeg. (or i suppose you could stir the
nutmeg into the sauce after it's off the fire)
8. Bake 5-10 minutes at 350 degrees Farenheit until nice and bubbly.