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What do you with turnips?

Turnips are arguably the Gregory House of the vegetable world: homely at first glance and repellent to the uninitiated, but complex, multifaceted and ultimately quite compelling.

They are in fact so versatile in fact that it is difficult to know where to begin; Raw, they are crisp, and at once sweet,peppery and earthy.Roasted, they become soft like cooked potatoes, their sweetness is enhanced, their pepperiness mellowed; turnips make a great addition to a winter vegetable roast, and can be mashed and combined with mashed potatoes to good effect. Their greens are delicious, cooked. You could, if you wished, cube the turnips, parboil, saute in the drippings of your roast meat, and throw in the chopped turnip greens at the last moment for a great accompaniment to roast duck, pork or beef.

You can also pickle turnips with beets. This is a middle eastern appetizer called liffit, and it is common on the tables of middle eastern restaurants. Pickled turnips are a pinkish purple, beautiful to look at, and addictive once tasted. They are at once sweet,sour, peppery.

Liffit is easy to make. And I will tell you how-

Liffit recipe

2 pounds medium turnips
3 medium sized beets (you can substitute one can sliced beets)
1 Tbs kosher salt
1 Jalapeño or serrano chile, split lengthwise
several celery or lovage leaves
1 1/3 cups distilled vinegar
1 cup water

Peel and slice the turnips and beets, halve them and cut them 1/4 inch thick. If substituting canned sliced beets, add them at the end, don't worry about them now.

Kitchen trick- turnips and beets are easiest to peel if you cut off the leaf and root ends and impale them on a fork. This gives you a handle to grasp when you go at them with the peeler.

Put the beets and turnips in a bowl, add the salt, and mix well. Let sit overnight.

The next day, they will have released a lot of juice. Divide the sliced beets, turnips, and other ingredients between two quart mason jars. If the jars are not full to the top, make up a little more water and vinegar mixture and add it.

Put the tops on and forget about them in the fridge for at least three days.

Serve along side shish kabob, shish kafta, raw kibbee, mujadarrah, or almost any Middle-Eastern main course.

When the mason jar is emptied of turnips and beets, you can pickle shelled, hardboiled eggs in the brine. The whites will turn purple, the yolks will stay bright yellow, they are a thing of beauty and yummy, too.

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