Modern baby turnips would be ideal for this recipe, but if these are not available use ‘non-woody’ fresh turnips cut into bite sized pieces. Turnips just make a change from potatoes, but by all means add mashed or roast potatoes as well if you hanker after them!
This recipe comes from one of the culinary celebrities of the mid 19th century. Although little is written about him today, Charles Elme Francatelli (1805-1876) ran many prestigious kitchens. He was an Englishman of Italian extraction who traveled to France to study under the legendary Antonin Carême, the founder of French haute cuisine.
Revered for his blending of the best of Italian and French cuisine, Francatelli was regarded as a leading chef in Victorian London and spent most of his career in Britain directing the kitchens of several aristocrats and nobleman.
The Cook’s Guide and Housekeeper’s & Butler’s Assistant, (1861) became a book of reference for any well-managed household.
Described as a practical treatise on English and foreign cookery, it contained over a thousand recipes of the day as well as instructions for the service of wines, directions for the preparation of diets for invalids, epicurean salads, medicinal drinks, and American drinks and beverages.
This and many other side dish recipes can be found online at http://www.thecooksguide.com/chapter16.html
Turnip Glaces With Sugar
Ingredients
- 400 g baby turnips Tender baby turnips can be simply scrubbed instead of peeled, but even their peel will be a bit more fibrous than the tender insides. Leave baby turnips whole; cut larger turnips into large-ish bite-size pieces.
- 50 g butter
- 2 oz sugar
- 1/2 pint vegetable or chicken stock
Instructions
- Cur about two dozen pieces of turnips into small bite size pieces; (or leave baby turnips trimmed and whole) then put them into a deep saute pan, spread with fresh butter, and sprinkle with about two ounces of sugar.
- Moisten with about half a pint of good stock, and set the turnips to simmer very gently over a moderate fire for about twenty minutes: when they are nearly done, remove the lid, and place them over a brisk fire,
- Boil the moisture down to glaze, gently rolling the turnips in this with great care, to avoid breaking them; they must then be dished up in neat order, and the glaze poured over them.
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