Turnips in Shoyu Butter
Turnips can be a pretty polarizing vegetable, and understandably so. Not quite as crisp and spicy as a radish when fresh, and tricky to cook, they often end up as the thing that's picked around in the pan of roasted veggies. But when cooked with care, I think that turnips can be a real treat - a star, even. The trick is that they have a magical sweet spot where they are no longer raw, but not yet mushy. By gently pan-roasting them, you are able to avoid over cooking them on the inside while also achieving a savory brown exterior. The combination of umami from the shoyu butter and sweet acidity of the Meyer lemon carry enough weight and punch to tackle the large chunks of turnip without masking its natural flavor. This makes a great side to fatty winter steelhead, braised lamb, or roasted chicken, and is delicious paired with a hearty belgian beer.
Ingredients:
2 large turnips, trimmed, washed, and quartered
2 Tbsp butter
2 tsp soy sauce
1 wedge Meyer lemon
flaky finishing salt
1. To make the shoyu butter, allow the butter and soy sauce to warm to room temperature, then mix together until homogenous. I recommend making a large batch and saving it in the fridge or freezer for future use!
2. In a small pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat until it starts to foam, then add in the turnips, cut-side down. It doesn't really matter which side you start with, but you should try and put them all on the same side to easily track your progress and ensure even cooking. Don't disturb the turnips much, besides checking one occasionally for browning. As each side browns, turn them to an uncooked side and repeat the process. Once all cut sides have been browned, turn them on their backs and continue cooking while tipping the pan to constantly baste them in hot butter with a large spoon. After a minute or so of this, the skins should be fairly browned as well. They won't get quite as even as the cut sides, but that's ok.
3. The turnips should be done at this point - deeply browned on the outside, yet still somewhat firm / crunchy in the center. The sweet spot between mushy and crunchy can be hard to find, but when you do, it's magic! Serve immediately, topped with the excess butter from the pan, a squeeze of meyer lemon, and a pinch of crunchy salt.
Alex Dakers
Chef/Owner, Yabai Nikkei, LLC
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