A couple weeks ago, my brother brought me a huge bag of turnips. As gardens tend to do, his coworker’s garden had produced far more than they could possibly use. I knew that I wanted to try something different with them. I’ve used turnips this year in stews and salads and grown to like their flavor.
This was an entirely different approach, I expected it to taste more like a potato gratin, but turnips have a strong and distinct flavor all their own. If you already like turnips, you are going to love this dish. If you are undecided, I’ll be honest and tell you that it could go either way for you. My family is split down the middle on this dish.
My oldest son, adored this and has already named it one of his “top most favorite meals ever.” My husband liked it as well; commenting that the turnip flavor is different at first, but it grows on you. My middle son simply declared that he is not a fan of turnips. My youngest was unimpressed as well. So, take that for what it’s worth. Me, I’m okay with letting my oldest have my portion of this dinner. I’ll stick to my favorite Winter Salad to use the rest of the turnips.
Ham and Turnip Gratin
Ingredients
- 1 ham steak about 10 ounces, diced into 1/2" cubes
- 3 large turnips peeled and sliced very thin
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- approximately 1/2 cup cream
- approximately 1/4 - 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese
- kosher salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large oven proof skillet, over medium high heat, warm the olive oil and then place a layer of turnip slices (slightly overlapping them) on the bottom of the skillet. Sprinkle with about 1/3 of the ham and garlic and drizzle with a bit of the chicken broth, cream, salt and pepper and then sprinkle with some of the cheese.
- Repeat these steps a couple more times, leaving the pan on the hot stove throughout the process. By the time, you finish the layers, the pan should be bubbling. When the layers are done, top with any remaining cheese. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the cheese on top starts to turn golden brown. Enjoy!
Chris says
I tend to turn up my nose to turnips, but i'd be willing to give this a taste!
sportsglutton says
I'm not shy of turnip, especially when served with cheese and ham. 🙂
Bo says
Most favorite meals ever…huh I thought no kid would ever say that about a meal that included turnips.
Mary says
You and me both, Bo. I'm still passing on this one, but he won't stop requesting it. Go figure.
Anonymous says
looks interesting, but you left out the ham, i presume you sprinnkle that in with the other things? i'm going to try it tonight, with a side of turnip greens 😉
Mary says
That is correct. I sprinkled the ham in the layers. Thanks for the heads up. I've corrected the recipe. Have a great afternoon!
Mark Miller says
I like the idea of this, ended up using both potatoes and turnips, adding thyme to the broth. After 20 minutes in the oven, the turnips were still pretty crisp, so I left it in longer. It seemed like it would need almost an hour to fully bake (like in most potato au gratin recipes), but maybe I used more turnip and potato than you did. Tasty – thanks for posting this!
Mary Younkin says
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Mark!