Recipe: Pickled Turnip Stems

There’s nothing quite like a recipe that uses something people often discard and turns it into something delicious. This recipe adds a great burst of flavor to the ordinary turnip stem and makes it a great addition to a pulled pork sandwich or a summer soup.

This recipe comes from Chef Hugh Acheson’s new cookbook, Pick a Pickle, that will be featured at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on Saturday April 12th which is free and open to the public. His most recent publication is no ordinary cookbook and is actually a book filled with cards with a pickle or pickling recipe on each card, so if you want to hear more about it hear it from Hugh himself next weekend.

Pickled Turnip Stems

This is the simplest way to use a bit of vegetable that usually ends up in the compost bin. It is great to have around for a garnish on a pulled pork sandwich or as a simple topping for a chilled summer soup. Try this technique with other greens as well. It’s a fun one.

4 cups small turnip stems

2 garlic cloves

1 sprig fresh thyme

3⁄4 tablespoon pickling salt

1 tablespoon white granulated sugar 1 tablespoon mustard seeds

3⁄4 cup cider vinegar 3⁄4 cup water

Cut the turnip stems into 1⁄4-inch lengths. Pack the stems, garlic, and thyme into the jars, leaving 1⁄2 inch of headspace at the top, and set aside.

Combine the salt, sugar, mustard seeds, vinegar, and water in a nonreactive saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.

Carefully ladle the hot pickling liquid into the jars, leaving 1⁄2 inch of headspace in each. Cap with lids and bands, cool for 2 hours, and then either refrigerate or process according to the jar manufac- turer’s directions.

The pickles can be refrigerated for 7 to 10 days; if processed, they will keep for up to 10 months.