I watched The French Cooking Academy Video on Stuffed Turnips with Mushrooms. The recipe seemed pretty easy to follow along with and it came out surprisingly delicious. I have to say these turnips are the most delicious turnips I’ve ever eaten. I ended up with a little extra filling that I will save for an omelet.

Ingredients for around 4 servings

1 lb turnips (4 turnips – washed, peeled and maybe slightly sliced so they are flat on the bottom or just peel them that way.

6 oz mushrooms – cleaned – chopped fine

1 shallot – peeled – chopped fine

1 cup vegetable stock (maybe slightly more if your turnips are bigger)

2 Tablespoons butter ( I used one salted and one unsalted)

2 teaspoons bread crumbs (maybe more if your turnips are bigger)

Directions

Oven needs to be set to 410 degrees F.

Hollow out the turnips.

I used a paring knife and cut a lid for each turnip and dug in with a measuring teaspoon to hollow it out. YOU NEED TO SAVE THE TURNIP INSIDES FOR THE FILLING.

Turnips need to be blanched now to remove bitterness.

They willl need 2-3 minutes depending on size.

Remove from water after blanching.

Turnip middles need to be either chopped well.

They go with a Tablespoon of butter on medium heat for around 5-6 minutes and then put to the side.

Your mushrooms and shallot needs to be chopped small just like the turnip middles. They now go in a pot on medium heat with a Tablespoon of butter for around 6-8 minutes or until all the moisture from mushrooms is gone.

The cooked turnip middles and the mushroom mixture get mixed together and stuffed into the mushrooms.

Pour a spoonful of stock into each turnip. ***(small turnip a teaspoon more if the turnip is bigger)***

Top each of the mushroom fillings with crumbs.

Put a spoonful of stock over each mushroom (again).

Pour up to a 1/2 cup of stock into the pan to steam and flavor the turnips.

Most turnips will need 25 minutes in the 410 degree F oven you can check with a toothpick, fork or knife.

ENJOY!

A Special THANKS to The French Cooking Academy For showing me how to make these delicious amazing turnips!

I had these plum tomatoes that had to be used so I made a tomato soup. I made it chunky but if you like smooth you can blend, strain and add a little cream if you like. After I made it I thought what can I do to make it more interesting? I thought I’d make grilled cheese ravioli so I did. The soup is far more interesting now. My idea of serving size will differ from your idea of serving size. To me this makes 4 bigger servings or 6 smaller servings.

Ingredients for around 6 servings

2 Tabllespoons olive oil

1 onion – chopped – like pea sized

1 carrot – remove skin, trim end, chop into small cubes like pea sized

3 garlic cloves – ground to paste or microplane

1 1/2 plum tomatoes (they must be super ripe like one day from throw away) – remove the stem button and dice small

14 oz Italian crushed tomatoes

2 cups water

1 Tablespoon vegetable soup base (this adds flavor and also reduces the salt added)

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (or to taste)

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon sea salt (or to taste)

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

1 egg

2 egg yolks + one of the egg whites to seal ravioli

1 1/2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

pinch sea salt

10 slices American cheese

2 oz butter to fry with

2 Tablespoons corn meal or semolina to rest ravioli on

few squirts of olive oil so ravioli don’t stick

optional a few fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons flour + extra flour for rolling *****amount of flour may differ slightly because different brands are ground different****It’s possible that you might need 2 Tablespoons less*****Start with 1/2 cup flour and slowly add till dough isn’t too sticky

Directions

In a big mixing bowl add the egg and yolks and mix well. Then add the oil and salt and mix well. Add 1/2 a cup of flour and mix well. You might need up to two tablespoons more flour. Slowly add flour until the dough is smooth and not too sticky. Knead it into a ball pat some flour all over it and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate about an hour.

Make soup.

In a sauce pot on medium high heat add the olive oil. When the olive oil is hot add the onions and carrot. Stir Occasionally and cover. This takes around five minutes. Add the garlic, plum tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, water, soup base, black pepper, thyme, salt, basil and white pepper. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer. Let it simmer about 20 minutes.

Roll out ravioli dough.

Cut out a circle and brush it with egg white.

Put about 1/2 a slice of cheese in the lower middle of ravioli. Fold and seal and place on semolina (or corn meal) lined tray.

If you have a dog it might appear by your feet now hoping that you will drop cheese.

Repeat till done. ( made 19 ravioli but I had to roll up scraps and re-rolll the dough..The second dough I couldn’t get as thin or as tender but it still was good)

Boil for one minute.

Fry in butter on both sides for about a minute or until lightly brown and serve with soup.

I guess you might have enough ravioli to give more than two ravioli a person but I thought two was the right size serving. You will have more ravioli than soup if you give two but don’t worry. They are so delicious that the ravioli will go fast. They taste like a grilled cheese sandwich but they are ravioli.

Add some fresh basil if you have any.

My husband said that he could eat all the grilled cheese raviolis. I hate to brag but they really are FORKING GREAT!

This is a spin off recipe of the French Style Carrot Soup I did from the video I watched from The French Cooking Academy. I did almost the same recipe with beets. I’ve found that my beets had some fiber in them so you really have to stain beet soup or your soup might have a chunky texture depending on your beets and also depending on your blender. At the end I thought the beets needed a little adjustment with flavor too so I added a couple tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and it gave the soup more definition. I do note that my idea of a serving size may differ from your idea of a serving size. This makes around 6 medium sized bowls.

Ingredients for around 6 servings.

2 lbs beets peeled and sliced extra thin on a mandolin

1/2 large sweet onion – peeled sliced extra thin on a mandolin

1 sprig fresh thyme

1 sprig fresh tarragon

4 oz unsalted butter – (2oz for soup, 1 oz for finishing soup and 1 oz for croutons

1/2 teaspoon course sea salt

1/4 teaspoon sugar

10 oz potato – remove skin, small dice like pea sized

4 cups water

2 Tablespoons creme fraiche -OR TO TASTE (you might want more or a little less – substitutes like higher quality cream cheese, sour cream, Australian or French style yogurt can be used

1/2 a quality roll – cut in small cubes

1/4 cup canola oil – to fry croutons

2 Tablespoons tarragon (torn) or chives (snipped)

optional – pinch piment d’ espelete for finishing

Directions

Put a pot on medium heat and melt 1/2 of the butter. Add beets, onion salt, sugar, thyme and tarragon. Cover with foil and steam till beets are tender (around 8 minutes..timing may differ)

Add potatoes and water. Slow simmer for 15 minutes. NOTE it will take a while to bring to slow simmer. start timing once it starts to simmer. You will have to turn heat down slightly.

While you are waiting fry the bread cubes. Get a sauce pan on medium high heat. Melt the butter and add the oil. Fry the croutons till golden brown stirring a bit. This doesn’t take to long. Drain them on a paper towel lined pan and put to the side.

After the soup has slow simmered 15 minutes remove the thyme and tarragon sprigs. Now use a stick blender and blend till smooth. Add an ounce of butter. You will need 1-3 Tablespoons of creme fraiche (or substitutes) depending on your taste. Add one Tablespoon at a time till it’s as creamy as you want.

Strain soup. Push it threw the strainer.

SERVE!

Top with a few croutons and some fresh tarragon or chives.

A Special THANKS to the French Cooking Academy for showing me how to make this kind of soup.

I watched The French Cooking Academy’s video on French Style Carrot Soup that is actually called Potage Crecy A La Briarde. It looked very easy to prepare and I had all the ingredients ((except for one)). In the video he didn’t tell you most of measurements but it was pretty easy to guess. My idea of portion size might differ from your idea of portion size. This recipe makes around 6 medium sized bowls of soup…

Ingredients for around 6 servings

2 lbs carrots – trimmed, peeled, sliced extra thin on a mandolin

1/2 a large sweet onion – peeled, sliced thin on a mandolin

1 sprig fresh thyme

4 oz unsalted butter – (2oz to start soup, one ounce to finish soup and one ounce to fry bread cubes)

1/2 teaspoon course sea salt

1/4 teaspoon sugar

10 oz potato – peeled and cut into small cubes slightly bigger than peas

4 cups water

2 Tablespoons creme fraiche (I substituted a high quality cream cheese that was without preservatives, gum and stabilizers…but in a pinch sour cream or French or Australian style yogurt would work)

1/2 a quality roll – cut into small cubes

1/4 cup canola oil to fry bread

2 Tablespoons fresh chervil or cilantro leaves

Directions

In a pot on medium heat melt 2 ounces of butter and add the carrots, onion, thyme, salt and sugar. Cover with lid or foil and let it steam for five minutes.

Add the potatoes and water. This needs to SLOW SIMMER for 15 minutes. (this did take a while…I left my pot on the medium heat….I started timing once it started to simmer and then I turned it down a bit more.

During this time you might want to fry up the roll cubes. Get a fry pan on medium high with the oil and one ounce of butter. Stir every so often and they get golden and crisp. (this doesn’t take too long…maybe? 5 minutes) When done remove from pan and put on a paper towel lined pan.

When your pot of soup has slow simmered for 15 minutes remove the thyme sprig. Blend with a stick blender. Add the creme fraiche to taste. (In the video he first said one tablespoon….then he tasted it and said I need another……then he put a third Tablespoon in….I thought two tablespoons seemed right in the batch I made but you might prefer more) Also blend in the butter. It should be very smooth and creamy. If you want to be prefect strain the soup.

Serve soup topped with fresh chervil or fresh cilantro leaves and only few croutons. (I added a pinch of piment d’ espelette)

A special THANKS to The French Cooking Academy for making a video on how to prepare Potage Crecy A La Briarde – French Style Carrot Soup.

I had this idea that balsamic vinegar and bomba (a hot spicy Italian pepper condiment) would go well with beets and they do. Onions, basil, blood oranges and robiola cheese tie it all together. I fried some plain capers and a few mushrooms rolled in cornstarch just for fun. I didn’t include any frying for this recipe but you can if you want. I also note that my idea of a serving size might differ from yours. I think this is something that you only eat a small dish of.

Ingredients for 6 small servings

1 1/2 lbs red beet root – washed well, skin removed – depending on size cut in half and if large quarter

1 Tablespoon Bomba or Bomba Calabrese (each brand is very different and also might be an inconsistent product as far as heat (you might need more or want to use slightly less). Today I’m using Trader Joe’s Bomba that is made with fermented Calabrian chili peppers)

1 cup balsamic vinegar

1 cup water

1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 large sweet onion – sliced very thin

3 blood oranges – supreme them if you can

8 oz robiola cheese – cut in cubes that aren’t too big

1/4 cup fresh basil

Directions

Set oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large baking dish or pan add the bomba, balsamic, water and fennel seeds and mix well. Then add the beets and cover pan tight with foil. Put on the middle rack. This stays in the oven till beets are fork tender. The time will differ depending on age and size of beets, the pan and the oven. Usually this takes one-one and one half hours. When fork tender remove the beets from the oven. Remove the beets from the liquid so they can cool ooff and you can cut them in a desired shape.

Use the liquid and add the sliced onions to it. Now you have bomba balsamic onions. After the beets are cut to desired shape mix them with the onions.

To serve top with blood oranges, basil and robiola cheese.

ENJOY!