Chef Juliette
Suet Dumpling
Boulettes au suif, poached beside salt beef, turn equal weights of flour and finely chopped suet into tender, rich dumplings. Keep the beef liquor at a bare tremble and the old garnish works beautifully at home.
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Stuffed Turnips.—B
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 2178, Stuffed Turnips.—B, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Evenly hollowed turnips cradle semolina simmered in consommé and bound with Parmesan, then braise in butter until the shells yield and the filling stays creamy, a composed side made for generous serving.
Side Dishes
French
Dinner Party
Holiday
35 min
Active Time
50 min cook•1 hr 25 min total
Yield4 servings
Navets farcis B (stuffed turnips with semolina) teach the quiet discipline of matching a vessel to its filling. The turnip must become tender without collapsing while the semolina stays creamy beneath its Parmesan, so the one true thing to know is this: hollow every turnip to the same thickness. Uneven walls give you hard shoulders and broken bottoms in the same pan.
The book assumed a tray of matched turnips trimmed by practiced hands, a consommé pot never off the range, and brigade quantities moving through a broad sauté pan. At home, eight evenly sized turnips, a good prepared consommé, a melon baller, and one snug ovenproof pan do the same work. Decorative turning and service-scale mise en place are scaffolding and can go; the hollowing, consommé-cooked semolina, Parmesan, and butter braise are the dish, and all four stay. One cook, one stove, one evening.
Properly cooked, the turnips are tender enough to cut with a fork, their pale shells gleaming with butter around a savory, softly set center. Don't chase a dark gratin crust. This preparation is finished by gentle braising and glazing. Before you touch the pan, set the turnips side by side and choose ones of nearly equal width; equal walls are the step that decides the whole dish.
Navets farcis belong to the Parisian classical table, where neatly formed vegetables traveled from grand-kitchen garnishes to bourgeois dining rooms as composed side dishes. The letter B is not a regional label; it marks a second filling within a recipe family, with the method held steady while semolina cooked in consommé and Parmesan replace the preceding farce. The source's allowance for spinach, chicory, farinaceous vegetables, or creamy rice shows the working logic of the canon: one prepared turnip, several soft fillings suited to its tender shell.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
small round turnips
Quantity
8, about 2¼ pounds (1.02 kg) total
each about 2 to 2½ inches (5 to 6 cm) wide
water
Quantity
2 quarts (1.9 liters / 1.9 kg)
for blanching
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 18 g)
for blanching
prepared consommé
Quantity
1¾ cups (420 ml / 420 g)
divided
fine durum wheat semolina
Quantity
¼ cup (60 ml / 42 g)
Parmesan
Quantity
⅓ cup (80 ml / 30 g)
finely grated
unsalted butter
Quantity
3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g)
softened and divided
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| small round turnipseach about 2 to 2½ inches (5 to 6 cm) wide | 8, about 2¼ pounds (1.02 kg) total |
| waterfor blanching | 2 quarts (1.9 liters / 1.9 kg) |
| fine sea saltfor blanching | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 18 g) |
| prepared consommédivided | 1¾ cups (420 ml / 420 g) |
| fine durum wheat semolina | ¼ cup (60 ml / 42 g) |
| Parmesanfinely grated | ⅓ cup (80 ml / 30 g) |
| unsalted buttersoftened and divided | 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •Small melon baller, about 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide
- •10- to 11-inch (25- to 28-cm) lidded ovenproof sauté pan or shallow casserole
- •Small heavy-bottomed saucepan
- •Small whisk
- •Parchment paper
Instructions
- 1
Shape the turnip cups
Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Peel the turnips, trim the root ends just enough that they stand upright, and slice a thin piece from each stem end to expose the flesh. Hollow them from the top with a small melon baller, leaving an even ⅜-inch (1-cm) wall and base. Evenness matters more than perfect symmetry: a thin bottom breaks while a thick shoulder remains hard.
Save the scooped turnip flesh for a soup or purée. Decorative turning is brigade scaffolding; sound, evenly thick cups are what this dish requires. - 2
Blanch without softening
Bring the water and salt to a boil in a wide pot. Lower in the turnip cups, return the water to a gentle simmer, and blanch for 6 to 8 minutes. They are ready when the outer flesh has lost its raw, chalky firmness but the walls still resist a skewer. Lift them into cold water to stop the cooking, then drain them upside down and pat them dry.
- 3
Cook the semolina
Bring 1 cup (240 ml) of the consommé to a bare simmer in a small saucepan. Rain in the semolina while whisking, then lower the heat and stir for 6 to 8 minutes, until it forms a creamy mass and a spoon drawn across the pan leaves a track that closes slowly. Remove it from the heat and work in the Parmesan. If the semolina knots or tightens abruptly, stop heating and beat in hot reserved consommé 1 tablespoon (15 ml) at a time until smooth. Ça se rattrape. If it remains loose, return it to gentle heat for another minute.
- 4
Fill and arrange
Coat the bottom and sides of a snug ovenproof sauté pan or shallow casserole with 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) of the butter. Spoon the warm semolina into the turnips, filling each to the rim without packing it down, and smooth the tops into shallow domes. Stand the turnips upright in the pan with a little room between them.
- 5
Braise under cover
Pour ½ cup (120 ml) of the consommé around the turnips, keeping it off the filling, and dot them with the remaining 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) butter. Cover the surface with parchment, put on the lid, and braise in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes. The liquid should tremble gently around the turnips, never boil hard; covered, moist heat tenderizes the walls without drying the semolina.
- 6
Glaze and serve
Remove the lid and parchment, baste the turnips with the buttery pan juices, and return them uncovered to the oven for 10 to 15 minutes. They are done when a knife enters the thickest shoulder with little resistance and the remaining liquid has reduced to a glossy coating. If the pan dries before the turnips are tender, add reserved consommé 2 tablespoons (30 ml) at a time and cover again. If the turnips are tender but the juices remain thin, lift them to a warm serving dish and reduce the liquid briefly on the stove before spooning it over. Serve two turnips per person. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Choose young turnips that feel dense and heavy, with smooth skins and nearly equal diameters. Large turnips can be woody at the shoulders and bitter at the root; matched small ones cook together and look generous without becoming cumbersome.
- •The consommé is both cooking liquid and principal seasoning. A good prepared or canned consommé, diluted if concentrated, is the honest home equivalent to the stockpot once kept ready through service. Taste before adding any further salt because Parmesan supplies its own.
- •Use fine semolina intended for porridge, not couscous and not coarse polenta. It must swell into a creamy filling that can be spooned, not remain as separate grains.
- •Spinach, chicory, or creamy rice may replace the semolina, exactly as the source permits. Keep any alternate filling soft but not wet, then use the same hollowing and butter-braising method.
- •Serve beside roast poultry, veal, or a glazed ham. A dry white Burgundy has enough freshness for the turnip and enough body for the Parmesan.
Advance Preparation
- •The turnips may be hollowed, blanched, dried, and refrigerated in a covered container up to one day ahead.
- •The semolina filling may be prepared up to 6 hours ahead. Reheat it gently with a spoonful of consommé until creamy before filling the turnips.
- •The turnips may be filled and arranged in their buttered pan up to 4 hours ahead. Refrigerate them covered, then add the consommé and remaining butter immediately before braising.
- •Leftovers keep refrigerated for up to 2 days. Reheat them covered at 325°F (165°C) with a spoonful of consommé, then uncover briefly to restore the glaze.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 290g)
Calories
220 calories
Total Fat
11 g
Saturated Fat
7 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
4 g
Cholesterol
30 mg
Sodium
650 mg
Total Carbohydrates
21 g
Dietary Fiber
4 g
Sugars
7 g
Protein
9 g
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