Turnip Puree With Pears And Cheese Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Combine the cream, milk, mustard, cayenne, nutmeg, a generous amount of salt and the turnips and rutabaga in a large bowl. Mix well. Transfer the vegetable mixture to a large pot over medium heat and simmer gently, stirring occasionally to assure the mixture is not sticking to the bottom, until the vegetables give up water and become tender, for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and taste for seasoning.
• Make the topping: Mash 2 tablespoons butter in a small bowl. Add the panko, almonds and 1/2 cup Parmesan and stir to combine. Set aside.
• Add the pears to the turnip mixture. Grease the bottom and sides of a 3-quart gratin dish with the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Spread the minced garlic on the bottom of the dish with the back of a spoon. Arrange half of the turnip mixture and cream evenly in the bottom of the gratin dish, pressing down to flatten the mixture. Top with the Gruyere and remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan. Arrange the remaining turnip mixture evenly on top. Pour any leftover cream over the gratin. Cover the dish with a sheet of foil, crimping the edges, and place on a baking sheet so that no excess liquid will leak onto the floor of your oven and burn.
• Place in the center of the oven and bake for 1 hour. Carefully remove from the oven, take off the foil and return to the oven to cook until completely tender when pierced with the tip of a small knife, 45 minutes to 1 hour more.
• Top the gratin with the panko-cheese mixture and bake until golden brown, about another 15 minutes. Remove and cool at least 30 minutes but no longer than 1 hour before serving.

Steps:

• Combine the turnips, milk, thyme and garlic in a medium saucepan. Set over medium heat and partially cover the pan. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, until the turnips are tender-the tip of a paring knife should go through without resistance.
• Drain the turnips, reserving the cooking liquid, and transfer to a food processor (discard the thyme sprigs). Add about 1 cup of the reserved cooking liquid and the butter, season with plenty of salt and pepper and puree until smooth. Add more of the liquid, if necessary. Serve hot.

Steps:

• Steam the turnips for 20 to 40 minutes, depending on age and size, until tender.
• Steam the pears until they are soft, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, saute the shallots in the butter until translucent.
• Either in a food processor, using the steel blade, or in a blender, puree the turnips, pears and shallots with the Gorgonzola, in batches, until all of it is pureed. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.
• At this point the dish may be refrigerated. To serve, spoon puree, which is quite liquid at this point, into a large skillet. Cook at a simmer, to thicken the mixture and evaporate the liquid, for about 30 minutes.