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October 9th, 2005
01:22 pm - Turnip Tots
Amid much controversy,
1 turnip root (none of you smartypantses ask me what kind of turnip. I don't know. It could have been a rutabaga for all I know. It said "turnip" in the store. Big heavy thing. Gimme a break.)
4 qt water
bowl of ice water
4 qt corn oil
2 eggs
4 tbsp corn starch
1 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp finely ground black pepper
2 tsp kosher salt
Water (see instructions)
Additional salt to season tots
Bring water to boil in a large soup pot.
Cut turnips to very small dice (~1/4"). I did this by running them through the julienne blade on a mandolin, then aligning them in one direction on a cutting board and chopping the strips into very little cubes.
Blanch the diced turnip in the boiling water for 1 minute, then remove and shock in ice water. (I did this in two batches.)
Remove turnips from ice water, lay out turnips on a cookie sheet lined with paper towels, cover with additional paper towels and press to remove excess moisture.
Beat eggs. Whisk together corn starch, flour, salt, pepper.
Sprinkle dry ingredients over egg, stir with fork slightly.
Add water 1 tbsp at a time and stir with fork until mixture is the texture of pancake batter, not doughy but not runny.
Add turnips and stir to coat.
Next, put down plastic wrap on 2 cookie sheets. Form tater-tot sized balls of the turnip on top of the plastic wrap. I used a #40 disher to put down ~2-tbsp "hemispheres" of the turnip, then cut them in half with a butter knife. It's very messy and gluey so it's difficult to use hands for this. (any suggestions for forming these would be appreciated, it was a pain in the ass.)
Turnip tots should be frozen before frying to keep them cohesive -- about 3 hrs worked for me.
Heat oil to 375 in a dutch oven, or a deep fryer (I used the latter.) Fry in batches enough frozen tots to cover the surface of the oil without crowding (in my fryer I did about 12 at a time.)
Fry until golden-brown, maybe... I'm guessing here... 7 minutes?? But really, just look for golden-brown. You can adjust the cooking time if necessary after you make the first batch and taste.
Remove from oil and place on an overturned cooling rack on top of paper towels, salt immediately. Yields 60-80 turnip tots depending on size of turnip/dishing method.
I served these with this quick spicy mayo:
2 cups mayonnaise
2 tbsp hot sauce (or sambal)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
Note: Several tasters suggested adding a hot pepper to the batter. I may try this in future... I would go for about 2 jalapenos (or 2 fresnos or serranos if you like spicier food), seeds removed and minced.
These were pretty darn tasty, and even the turnip-unfriendly ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) rwgill and flapper_girl agreed they were good.
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Comments:
Ever make wasabi mayo? It's gooood.
Mags and Donlad caught snapper from the sea and made us sushi while in NZ. It was so beautiful, I should have taken pictures, but I was too hungry. Proper sushi rice takes forever to cook.
I like turnips. It is good that you are using the shiny new-ish fryer. I would eat your tots. Wait, that doesn't sound so good.... |
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