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Yellow Turnip Salad with Sour Cream
Instructions
Gather the products on a clean work surface for making the yellow turnip salad with sour cream. Have everything within easy reach before starting the brief preparation work that follows.
For this salad, take a properly fresh yellow turnip variety. The yellow turnip is sweeter and slightly spicier than common white turnip varieties. Place the fruit under cool running water to wash thoroughly. After washing, peel the turnip with a vegetable peeler, leaving the more tender central part of the vegetable. Grate the peeled turnip on a special Korean-style julienne grater for the most attractive uniform shreds. The Korean grater produces beautiful aesthetic vegetable julienne strands that look properly elegant in the finished salad.
After rinsing the parsley thoroughly under cold running water and finely chopping it with a sharp knife, add the chopped fresh parsley to the bowl with the grated turnip. The parsley adds a beautifully bright fresh note to the finished salad.
Now peel the onion and slice it into thin half-rings. To make the turnip salad more tender and tasty, the onion should be pre-marinated briefly in a vinegar-and-sugar pickle, or alternatively use sweet salad onions (such as Vidalia, Maui or red onion) for a milder result.
Add the prepared chopped onion to the other salad ingredients in the bowl. Stir gently to combine without crushing the delicate turnip strands.
Now dress the salad with thick homemade sour cream, salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Adjust the seasoning gradually rather than adding all at once for the most balanced finished flavour.
After mixing all the salad ingredients thoroughly in the bowl, transfer the yellow turnip salad with sour cream to a shallow serving dish, mounding it attractively in the centre. Garnish with a few extra fresh parsley leaves for the most appealing final presentation. The salad is now ready to serve. Bon appetit!
Tips
- 1
Choose properly young small yellow turnips for the sweetest tenderest finished salad, since older larger turnips can taste woody and too peppery for raw consumption. Look for firm smooth skin without any soft spots or blemishes when buying. The smaller the turnip, the more delicate the finished flavour will be in the salad. Properly fresh turnips have a clean earthy aroma rather than any musty or bitter smell.
- 2
Pre-marinate the onion briefly to soften its sharp flavour for a more delicate finished salad. To pair this beautifully simple turnip salad with another light fresh side dish for variety, try our crowd-pleasing herring with potatoes and onions as a heartier protein-rich alternative for a complete light meal at the table.
- 3
Use full-fat sour cream (at least 20% fat content) for the richest creamiest finished dressing. Lower-fat sour cream tends to taste thin and slightly tangy in a way that doesn't pair as well with the gentle sweet turnip flavour. Whisk the sour cream lightly with a fork before adding to the salad for a smoother more uniform consistency throughout the finished dressing on each portion.
- 4
Garnish the finished salad with extra fresh parsley leaves, a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds or even a few pomegranate seeds for added visual interest and flavour complexity. For another beautifully simple homemade salad to add variety to your weekly menu, try our refreshing classic Caprese salad recipe as a contrasting Mediterranean-style alternative.
FAQ
What is the difference between yellow and white turnips? +
Yellow turnips (sometimes called rutabaga or swede in some regions, though technically distinct varieties) have noticeably sweeter and slightly more peppery flavour than common white turnip varieties. The yellow flesh also tends to be firmer and crunchier when raw, which makes the variety particularly well suited for raw salad applications. White turnips work as substitutes but produce a sharper less sweet finished salad. Use either variety according to local availability.
Can I use a regular grater instead of a Korean grater? +
Yes, but the visual appearance of the finished salad will be noticeably less elegant. A regular box grater produces shorter chunkier shreds rather than the long thin strands that the Korean-style julienne grater creates. The flavour stays exactly the same with either grating method. For a properly authentic-looking finished salad, the Korean grater is genuinely worth the small investment if you make grated salads regularly. Otherwise, the regular grater works perfectly well for occasional preparation.
How long does this salad keep? +
Store the assembled salad covered tightly in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours for best results. The flavours actually improve slightly during the first few hours as the components merge into a harmonious whole. After a day, the texture begins to soften noticeably as the turnip releases moisture into the surrounding dressing. Plan to assemble the salad fresh on the day of serving for the brightest most appealing finished texture and flavour at the dinner table.
Can I add other vegetables to this salad? +
Absolutely. Grated carrot, thinly sliced apple, finely chopped celery, fresh radish, cucumber strips or even shredded white cabbage all work as additions to vary the basic recipe. Each addition brings its own slightly different flavour and texture to the finished salad. A grated apple in particular pairs beautifully with the sweet yellow turnip and sharp onion combination, while shredded carrot adds welcome bright orange colour for visual contrast in the bowl on the celebration table.
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