I was given, as a present, a bag of something the farmer that gave it to me, called turnips. They were organically grown and much too good to feed to the rabbits. Unfortunately the tops were beyond saving and the rabbits got those. Our experience with this vegetable is limited, so we decided to experiment and started to look up recipes, but soon had to consult our gardener across the street as to what swede, rape, turnip, kohlrabi, rapa, etc all are.  After much consulting, discussion and research, the subject is still open for more opinions.

Brassica rapa – Turnip –  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turnip

Brassica oleracea – Kohlrabi – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kohlrabi

Brassica napus – Swede / Rutabaga / Neep  / Rape – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutabaga

Call it Turnip, Swede, Rape, Kohlrabi, Rutabaga or Rapa, I had a crack at cooking some according to a recipe adapted from Carluccio, and Mrs BYO invented her own after reading some recipes and not finding anything to her taste. The surprising result was one of the most memorable meals we have ever had.

In our house we always have this competition as to who can cook what best! In this case Mrs BYF – 1 :: Mr BYF – 0 (At least I made the pork sausages she used)

RECIPE (Mrs BYF) serves 2 with some left over

6  small pork meatballs, well seasoned. Leftover sausage meat worked well

2 roasted and peeled red pepperoni  (capsicum / sweet pepper)

1 rapa (swede) sliced into bite sized pieces

few garlic cloves

1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup of chicken stock. Home made is best and we always have some on hand

Choose a pan big enough to hold everything. Brown the meatballs in one tablespoon of olive oil, remove and set aside. In the same pan add the rest of the oil, the garlic and rosemary. When the garlic has softened add the chopped Rapa and fry on medium, stirring until well covered with the oil. Add hot stock, cover and simmer on medium / low heat until the Rapa has softened. Do not cook too long, as you don’t want mush. Add the pepperoni, stir and heat through. Add the meatballs, stir and heat through. Serve very hot. Some people will have bread with this, but we found we did not need anything more.

RECIPE (Mr BYF)  – RAPA  ALLA  FRIULANA  (adapted from Carluccio)

As most of the Southern Italians consider Rapa to be cattle feed, the predominant recipes for this vegetable are from the North. This recipe from Friuli is very easy and tasty.

Take a heavy cast iron pot and ad 20 gram of castor sugar and 100 gram of butter

Heat the butter and sugar and allow to caramalise a bit

Now peel and dice one average size Rapa and place in the cast iron pot with the butter and sugar. Stir and cook for about ten  minutes

Ad 50 ml of good white wine vinegar, 20 gram of plain flour and stir gently while gradually adding 250 ml of chicken stock

Adjust for salt and pepper and cook slowly until the Rapa is soft

Serve hot with any meat dish

Do not forget the home made wine

ENJOY!!!