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Purée de Navets ParmentierTurnip and Potato Purée
August 20, 2021 | Updated August 18, 2023 | Laura
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✽ Recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. I | Julia Child ✽
Julia Child Recipe 184 | 344 recipes to go!
✽ Turnip and Potato Purée [Purée de Navets Parmentier], p. 487
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✽ Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. I was written by Julia Child who co-authored with Simone Beck & Louisette Bertholle and was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1961.
✽ You can buy Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I which contains these recipes here. (affiliate link)
The purpose of this Julia Child section of my blog is to document my journey of learning how to cook. To show my successes, my failures, and what I learned along the way.
Since I didn't create these recipes (if only!), I do not post exact amounts of ingredients or word-for-word instructions. If any of these recipes spark your interest, I highly recommend you buy Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking (affiliate link). It's a great investment and learning tool and contains hundreds of classic recipes.
What you will find on my blog is:
✽ Butter Count & Cost Total
✽ Recipe Rating
✽ Answers to Questions about Recipe
✽ Fun Facts about Recipe or an Ingredient Used
✽ The Recipe Process
✽ Step-by-Step and Final Photos of Recipe
I hope that you enjoy reading my thoughts, learn something new, and leave inspired to try a new recipe. Bon appétit!
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Butter Count & Cost: Turnip and Potato Puree
✽ Butter Count: +6 TB
✽ Cost: $4.89 [~$0.81 per serving]
Check out the total Julia Child butter count & cost here!
→ Looking for a different Julia Child recipe? Here's a list of all of the completed and pending Mastering the Art of French Cooking recipes!
Turnips are good. Potatoes are good. Turnips and potatoes together are great.
Have you ever eaten turnips before?? Before I started cooking from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, I had not. They are so delicious, and I wish I would have started eating them earlier.
Turnips are very similar to potatoes, but they have a bit of kick to them. Almost the same kind of kick you get when you take a bite of Dijon mustard or horseradish.
I would have never in a million years thought of mixing mashed turnips with mashed potatoes, but here we are. It works, and it works so well.
Turnip and Potato Purée Rating
✽ Laura's Rating: 9
✽ Brian's Rating: 9
Yes, a 9 from both of us! I want this turnip and potato purée at every backyard grillout, on the Thanksgiving table, and always served with my chicken-fried steak. Imagine really good, creamy, and buttery mashed potatoes and put a small amount of kick in them. That's exactly what you get with this recipe. I will cook this over and over again.
Turnip and Potato Purée: Questions
✽ What is a turnip?
A turnip is a root vegetable. It's scientific name is Brassica rapa. Turnips are related radishes and both belong to the Family, Brassicaceae.
They are somewhat spicy when eaten raw, but that spiciness diminishes some when cooked leaving an earthy and sweet taste. A younger turnip tends to taste sweeter than an older one. The turnip leaves also can be eaten and referred to as turnip greens.
✽ What is a purée?
A purée can also be referred to as a mash and is made from fruits or vegetables. It's when these foods are liquidized/crushed/ground until a thick suspension or paste is formed.
✽ What to eat with mashed turnips?
Any roasted meats go great with mashed turnips. In fact, anything that you would serve mashed potatoes with would also go great with this recipe.
We ate ours with grilled sausage and it was perfect paired together. Poultry, ham, and pork chops are also great pairings.
Looking for more Julia Child vegetable recipes?
→ Check out all of the vegetable dish recipes that I've completed so far!
Fun Facts about Turnips
✽ How many types of turnips are there?
There are over 30 types of turnips! They are different sizes, colors, and taste differently. In north Texas, I can only find the white turnips with the purple tops which is the most common type.
✽ Are turnips biennials?
Yes, turnips are biennials meaning it takes two years to go from germination to reproduction.
✽ How big was the biggest turnip?
The biggest turnip ever weighed was over 39 pounds!
How to Make Turnip and Potato Purée
✽ Step 1: Braise Turnips
First, you have to make turnips braised in butter. This is a pretty simple task- blanch turnips and then simmer with butter and stock until tender.
✽ Step 2: Purée Turnips and Add to Mashed Potatoes
After the turnips are braised, it's time to purée! I put my turnips in my food processor which worked like a charm, but I suppose you could also hand mash them as well. That just takes a lot more effort, and the turnips will not be as smooth.
Now whip up some mashed potatoes. They don't have to be fancy. I simply boiled a Russet potato until tender, mashed it, and stirred in some butter, milk, and seasonings.
The turnips then get beaten into the mashed potatoes.
✽ Step 3: Heat on Stove
Since the turnips can hold quite a bit of moisture, the mixture gets heated on the stove until all the moisture evaporates and you end up with a creamy consistency.
And then, of course, some more butter is stirred into the mash.
Lastly, plop it into your serving dish and sprinkle with some parsley!
*This blog, Laura The Gastronaut, and this post were/are not endorsed or supported by Julia Child or The Julia Child Foundation.
Category: Julia Child, Vegetables Cuisine: French
Keywords: mashed turnips, julia child turnip recipe, potato and turnip recipe, potatoes and turnips
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More Vegetable Recipes:
✽ Gratin Jurassien (delicious scalloped potatoes made with heavy cream and cheese)
✽ Garlic Mashed Potatoes (one of my favorites- garlicky creamy potatoes)
✽ Turnips Braised in Butter (a simple but delicious recipe for all who love turnips)
→ Check out all of the completed Julia Child vegetable recipes!
✽ You can find this recipe and all the other Julia Child recipes I make in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I (affiliate link). Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. I was written by Julia Child who co-authored with Simone Beck & Louisette Bertholle and was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1961.
✽ Check out my Julia Child Recipe Checklist to see a list of all my completed and pending recipes from Mastering the Art of French Cooking!
Bon appétit!
August 20, 2021 by Laura Ehlers
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