Chef Juliette
Haricots Blancs à l’Américaine (Lima Beans)
Lima beans, lean bacon, and tomato sauce show the quiet discipline of binding: cook the beans gently, drain them thoroughly, and coat each one until glossy, never soupy.
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Turnips (Navets)
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 2176, Turnips (Navets), from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Small turnips cooked like carrots, tender beneath a butter-bright glaze or cloaked in cream, prove that one pan and careful reduction can turn a plain root into a proper French side.
Side Dishes
French
Weeknight
Comfort Food
15 min
Active Time
25 min cook•40 min total
Yield4 servings
Navets glacés ou à la crème (glazed or creamed turnips) teach reduction in its clearest form. The one true thing to know before touching the pan is this: the roots must become tender just as their cooking liquor finds its final body, syrupy for the glacés, softly coating for the crème.
The source entry assumes an entremetier, the vegetable cook, who already knows the carrot treatment and can tournée dozens of roots into matching shapes. At home, cut even wedges and use a wide sauté pan. The tournée work is brigade scaffolding and can go; the careful reduction is the dish and must stay. No stockpot or salamander is needed. This version scales the preparation to four, changing the shape and quantity rather than the method: one cook, one stove, one evening.
Choose the glassy glaze beside roast poultry or lamb, or the ivory cream finish when supper wants something softer. The turnips should hold their edges but yield completely to a knife. Watch the final five minutes closely: that is when water becomes sauce, and it is the one step that decides the dish.
Navets hold a steady place in French cuisine bourgeoise and the classical garnish repertory, served in their own vegetable dish or arranged beside roast poultry and lamb. Parisian grand kitchens formalized the household practice of shaping small roots evenly and giving them the same glaçage and à la crème treatments used for carrots. The method is sometimes mistaken for caramelization, but its aim is gentler: the turnips cook in their own liquor before butter binds that liquor into a clinging finish.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
small young turnips
Quantity
About 5 cups (1½ pounds / 680 g)
tops removed, peeled, and cut into even 1-inch (2.5 cm) wedges
water
Quantity
1½ cups (360 ml / 360 g), or enough to come halfway up the turnips
unsalted butter
Quantity
3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g)
divided
granulated sugar (optional)
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 12 g)
for navets glacés
fine sea salt
Quantity
¾ teaspoon (3.75 ml / 4.5 g)
heavy cream (optional)
Quantity
½ cup (120 ml / 120 g)
for navets à la crème
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| small young turnipstops removed, peeled, and cut into even 1-inch (2.5 cm) wedges | About 5 cups (1½ pounds / 680 g) |
| water | 1½ cups (360 ml / 360 g), or enough to come halfway up the turnips |
| unsalted butterdivided | 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g) |
| granulated sugar (optional)for navets glacés | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 12 g) |
| fine sea salt | ¾ teaspoon (3.75 ml / 4.5 g) |
| heavy cream (optional)for navets à la crème | ½ cup (120 ml / 120 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •11-inch (28 cm) wide sauté pan with lid
- •Small sharp paring knife
- •Heatproof serving spoon
Instructions
- 1
Cut the navets evenly
Peel the turnips generously, especially around the stem end, where the skin can be fibrous. Cut them into equal wedges about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick. Evenness matters more than tournée elegance here: mismatched pieces leave the small ones collapsing while the large ones remain hard.
Taste a thin raw shaving. A young turnip will be crisp and peppery-sweet; if a large storage turnip tastes fiercely bitter, blanch the wedges for 3 minutes in boiling water, drain them, and begin again with fresh measured water. - 2
Set the cooking liquor
Arrange the navets in a single layer in a wide sauté pan. Add the water, 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) of the butter, and the salt. For navets glacés, add the sugar now. For navets à la crème, leave the sugar out and keep the cream cold. Bring the liquor to a boil over medium-high heat, then lower it to a gentle simmer and cover with the lid slightly ajar.
- 3
Cook to tenderness
Cook for 12 to 18 minutes, turning the pieces once or twice, until a paring knife enters the centers with almost no resistance. The pan should still hold a shallow layer of liquor. If it dries before the navets are tender, add hot water 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) at a time. If the navets soften while plenty of liquor remains, lift them to a plate, reduce the liquor alone to about 2 tablespoons, then return them. Ça se rattrape.
- 4
Choose the finish
For navets glacés, uncover the pan and raise the heat to medium-high. Roll and toss the navets as the liquor reduces to large, clear bubbles and begins clinging to every surface. Take the pan from the heat and add the remaining 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) butter, tossing until the glaze is bright and even. It should be syrupy, not brown caramel; if it tightens before it coats, pull the pan from the heat and loosen it with 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) water. For navets à la crème, leave about 2 tablespoons of cooking liquor in the pan, add the cream, and simmer gently for 3 to 5 minutes, turning the navets until the sauce coats them softly. Remove the pan from the heat and swirl in the remaining butter. If the sauce grows greasy or too thick, stir in 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) cold water off the heat until it closes around the turnips again.
- 5
Serve without delay
Taste one navet and correct the salt only if needed. Spoon the vegetables into a warm serving dish with their finish: a clear butter sheen and barely a spoonful of glaze for the glacés, or enough cream to coat without flooding the plate for the à la crème. Serve as a weeknight vegetable or beside roast poultry, pork, or lamb. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Choose small, firm turnips that feel heavy and have smooth skins. Large roots can still serve, but peel them more deeply and cut away any woody core; careful preparation matters more than a pretty market bunch.
- •The navets must fit in one layer. A narrow saucepan stacks them, so the lower pieces overcook while the upper ones remain firm, and the cooking liquor cannot reduce evenly.
- •For the cream finish, use heavy cream, not milk. Milk thins the turnip liquor and can separate under reduction; cream gives the sauce enough fat to bind. We don't apologize for butter, and we don't dilute the cream.
- •The source also points onward to stuffed turnips. That is a separate preparation: hollowed roots require par-cooking and their own filling, so they are not folded into this glaze as a casual variation.
Advance Preparation
- •The turnips may be peeled and cut up to 6 hours ahead. Keep them covered in the cold, then rinse and drain before cooking.
- •For service later the same evening, cook the navets until just tender while about ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g) liquor remains, then cover and hold them for up to 2 hours. Complete either finish just before serving.
- •Leftovers keep for up to 3 days in the cold. Reheat gently with a spoonful of water; cream-finished navets should never be boiled hard.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 200g)
Calories
235 calories
Total Fat
20 g
Saturated Fat
12 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
6 g
Cholesterol
55 mg
Sodium
555 mg
Total Carbohydrates
15 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
10 g
Protein
2 g
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