Witchy Kitchen

Tag: turnips

  • Snow White Roasted Vegetables and Sausage with Red Wine Reduction

    Snow White Roasted Vegetables and Sausage with Red Wine Reduction

    In the same way folklore transforms over time, 2018’s Suspiria is a thorough retelling of the classic 1977 Dario Argento Giallo horror. Though both films tell the twisted fairy tale of a beautiful, talented and determined American ballerina coming to an elite, witch-inhabited dance school in Germany, the space between the plot points is distorted and the tone completely shifted. The original is drenched in a vibrant, almost garish color palette and an intense, powerful Goblin soundtrack, while the reimagining directed by Luca Guadagnino is soft and de-saturated with the dreamy, droney sounds of Thom Yorke. More in the Nightmare on Filmstreet review.

    Much like the films, this dish is heavily inspired by Snow White. Indeed our heroine, Susie Bannion (played in 1977 by Jessica Harper and in 2018 by Dakota Johnson), is a modern Snow White, who wanders into an enchanted world and has to fight attempts on her life from a jealous crone. As the Grimm brother’s Snow White tale comes from Germany and Suspiria takes place in Berlin, I definitely wanted the dish to have a German leaning, so chose a mixture of vegetables to roast with sausage.

    Color is so symbolic in both films, with the sweet ingenues often dressed in white, and red used in violent, jarring ways. The veggies used here are all white: darling little creamer potatoes, fennel, turnips and garlic. To accompany them I made a rich red wine reduction, also reminiscent of the wine Susie’s doctor gives her to drug her when she becomes too suspicious….it’s suspiciously delicious.

    Snow White Roasted Vegetables and Sausage with Red Wine Reduction

    For the veggies and sausage
    • 1 1/2 pounds yellow creamer potatoes, halved or quartered
    • 2 large bulbs fennel, trimmed and chopped into large chunks
    • 2 medium turnips, peeled and chopped into large chunks
    • 7 large cloves garlic, gently crushed and peeled
    • olive oil
    • 2 sprigs rosemary, finely chopped
    • 1 teaspoon coarse salt
    • 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
    • 1 pound peppery or sweet German or Eastern European-style sausage (we made this vegetarian by using Polish-style soy sausages), thickly sliced

    Heat oven to 425°. Divide potatoes, fennel, turnips and garlic into two large baking dishes. Drizzle with a generous amount of olive oil, sprinkle with salt and white pepper, toss with your hands and spread into a single even layer. Bake for 20 minutes, then stir/flip, making sure to scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the dish, spread evenly again and bake for 20 minutes more.

    Meanwhile, heat a little olive oil in a pan and brown the sausage in batches, removing to a plate. After the first 40 minutes of roasting, reduce oven heat to 350° and divide sausage between the dishes. Bake for another 20 minutes. Check the veggies at this point; they should be very soft, some gently caramelized, and the potatoes and turnips not mushy but easily pierced with a fork. Bake another 10-20 minutes until they reach desired doneness. Transfer to a serving dish.

    For red wine reduction
    • 2 tablespoons butter, divided
    • 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
    • 1 cup vegetable broth
    • 1 cup red wine

    In a saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of the butter and cook shallot until golden. Add vegetable broth and red wine and stir. Bring to a low simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has reduced to about a third of its volume. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining tablespoon butter.

    To serve, spoon vegetables onto a plate and drizzle with the red wine reduction. Serve with warm, crusty bread.

    Suspiria is now playing in theatres.

    First published on Nightmare on Film Street.

  • Turniphead Cawl

    Turniphead Cawl

    Howl’s Moving Castle is a 1986 fantasy novel by Diana Wynne Jones and subsequent 2004 Ghibli movie directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It’s the tale of the young hatmaker Sophie who was cursed with old age, and escapes to Howl’s castle, a steampunk fortress home to several enchanting characters, careening across the countryside. They are tonally different, the book having that very matter-of-face Britishy voice and the movie being soft, strange and meandering, but both very charming and observant. They explore themes of destiny – and the movie dips into pacifism – and a refreshing take on old age, when a person can be at peace with themself and therefore truly free.

    When brainstorming a dish for Howl’s Moving Castle, I thought Welsh Cawl might be a nice choice – is the national dish of Wales from whence hails Howl, and although Sophie hates turnips she has somewhat affectionately named the stalky scarecrow Turniphead. I carved little faces into my turnips, so Halloweeny – keep Halloween in your heart all through the year.

    Recommended, do the meat and broth step the day before so it has time to cool and you can spoon off the fat.

    Turniphead Cawl

    • 1.5 pounds bone-in lamb shoulder, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
    • flavorless oil
    • salt & pepper
    • herbs (I used several sprigs of thyme and a sprig of rosemary)
    • 2 leeks, trimmed and sliced into half moons
    • 1 large carrot, peeled and sliced into half moons
    • 3 medium turnips, peeled, halved, and carved into faces
    • handful parsley finely chopped

    Salt and pepper the meat and heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium high in a large soup pot. Brown in two batches, then add 6 cups water and the rest of the meat into pot, stirring well to scrape up any brown bits. Add herbs, bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer for an hour.

    Cool completely in the fridge. Scrape off fat and discard. Strain the meat out to a plate, and strain the broth.

    In the soup pot, gently heat 2 teaspoons oil. Add leaks and carrots to the pot and gently stir to coat, cooking several minutes until wilted and soft. Add broth, meat, and turnips. Bring up to a simmer and simmer until turnips are soft and can be easily pierced with a paring knife, 10-15 minutes.

    Arrange in a bowl and serve hot, garnished with parsley.

    Recipe for Fiction Kitchen Episode 49: HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE in which Carrie and Diana discuss the novel by Diana Wynne Jones as well as the Ghibli movie – with fire demon-cooked bacon, luscious cream cakes, magical honey and questionable turnip heads.

  • Scalloped Turnips

    Scalloped Turnips

    The night is dark, and full of turnips.

    Turnips are a staple of medieval cookery, and can often be used just as new world potatoes, whether sliced, mashed, or cooked into a soup. I recreated a scalloped potato dish I often cook for Thanksgiving using turnips instead, and their slightly sharper flavor worked well!

    The final product was a teensy bit soupy when sliced, as turnips aren’t as starchy as potatoes, but I’m not going to tell you not to make this because it was delicious. Eventually I may try variations, such as adding carrots and/or parsnips, using slightly less cream, or adding cheese (as in these garnished turnips, basically a turnip gratin).

    Scalloped Turnips

    • 4 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
    • 2-3 sprigs rosemary
    • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
    • 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
    • 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
    • 3 large turnips (or 6 small)
    • 3 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

    Heat oven to 350°

    Butter a 7×11 baking dish (I know this is an odd size, so others will work). Place the garlic and rosemary along the bottom.

    In a mixing bowl, mix whipping cream, salt, and white pepper.

    Cut turnips into quarters (if they are small, just halves). Using a mandolin, slice a turnip at a time, dip in the whipping cream mixture, and arrange in layers in the baking dish. Sprinkle small butter cubes over the top, and loosely tent the dish with foil.

    Bake for an hour, until turnips are soft and easily pierced. Raise heat to 425° and remove foil. Cook another 15 minutes until top is golden. Rest 15 minutes before serving.

    From Game of Thrones menu Queen in the North

  • Mash o’ Nine Sorts

    Mash o’ Nine Sorts

    This month I’ve made a couple of traditional recipes associated with Samhain (namely Irish Boxty and Barm Brack), so here’s an English one for the mix. It has nine ingredients – hence the name – and is also played as a fortunetelling game, with a ring (symbol of marital happiness) hidden inside to be served to a lucky guest.

    For the record, I got the ring, but Zoeya got upset so I re-hid it and she totally by chance got it and was really excited about it. Which is to say, usually in these situations I just tell her to get over it, but I think it’s ok to spoil your kids a little once in awhile to see them smile.

    Mash o’ Nine Sorts

    Slightly adapted from Food.com

    • 2 lbs potatoes, peeled and diced
    • 2 carrots, peeled and diced
    • 1 small turnip, peeled and diced
    • 1 large parsnip, peeled and diced
    • 1 tbsp butter
    • 2 leeks, cleaned and chopped into thin slices, including some of the green tops
    • 6 ounces farmhouse cheddar cheese, grated
    • salt & pepper
    • 2 tablespoons cream (or half & half, which I always have around)

    Heat oven to 350°.

    In a big pot of salted water, bring the potatoes, carrots, turnip and parsnip together to a boil, and cook until soft. Mash them thoroughly (I think it’s supposed to be more uniform but I left it a little lumpy) and season with salt and pepper to taste.

    Heat the butter and saute the leeks for a few minutes until soft. Add to the potato mixture along with the cream and mix. Stir in the grated cheese – and the ring! – and spread in a baking dish. Bake until golden brown, about 30 to 45 minutes.

    We ate this on Friday movie night while watching Frankenweenie.