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Hello!

Winter's in full swing and my kitchen has turned into a haven for comfort, and warmth (homes in coastal South African towns like Fish Hoek tend to have tiled floors to combat the beach sand issue, and let me tell you, the chill in this place is not the good kind!)

While I'm not a fan of the cold, I do love the produce of the season, and one of my favourites is a root vegetable I think needs a minute in the limelight: Turnips.

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This time of year, they're sweet and tender and perfumed ever so slightly with the aroma of horseradish, without packing any of the heat.
They're also cheap as chips (pun entirely intended) and I've been testing them in a variety of applications.

Boiled down with some grannysmith apples and purreed, they're delicious with almost anything pork related.
Sliced thinly and pickled, they bring a flat green salad to life.

For the sake of comfort when it's friggen miserable outside though, nothing quite does the job like a hot, crisp chip. (I just realised that only South Africans call fries 'Chips' . We also call crisps chips, traffic lights are called robots and if we're hitch-hiking or taking an elevator, both are called a 'lift'. I don't blame the rest of the world for not always getting we're on about, but we're lekker people, I promise.)

Now for the recipe.

I have challenged myself to create recipes that can be adapted to vegan with a few tweaks, as such, I'll mark substitutes for the vegan options below.

The Chips (Fries)

• 300grams turnips
• Juice of half a lemon in a bowl of cold water.
• 1 Tsp Salt
• 1 Tsp Pepper
• 1 Tsp Smoked Paprika
• 1/2 Tablespoon fresh Rosemary
• 1/2 Cup Cornstarch
• 1/4 Cup Finely Grated Parmesan or for the vegan option, 2 Tablespoons of Nutritional Yeast
• 2 Cups vegetable oil for frying (I used sunflower and peanut oil, the peanut oil tends to yield a crisper result)

Method:

1. Rinse and peel turnips before slicing into approximately 1x1 cm fries (I like mixing it up a little bit though for variety of texture). Place immediately in cold water with lemon juice to prevent them discolouring too much.
2. Mix cornstarch and all listed seasonings and mix well. I like to reserve half the cheese or nutritional yeast to sprinkle over after frying.
3. Pat turnip chips in kitchen paper to dry before coating in seasoned cornstarch.
4. Pour oil into a small pot and bring to approximately 185 C or 365F and carefully fry chips until floating and golden.
5. Remove from oil and drain on paper, adding salt to taste.

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Honey Mustard Mayo

• 2 Tbsp Mayonaise (link for vegan mayo recipe below)
• 1/2 Tbsp Honey or Maple Syrup
• 1/2 Tbsp Wholegrain Mustard

Method

1. Blend mayo, honey and mustard just before serving. Adjust ratios to taste. (I like it a little sweeter to combat the radishy bitterness of the turnips)

For Vegan Mayonaisse, I found these recipes by Jaymi Heimbuch. I haven't tried the tofu version, but the second one on the list results in a beautiful, tart mayo that works perfectly with these fries, just add the wholegrain mustard and maple-syrup if you'd rather not use honey and Bob's yer uncle.

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Variations:

• For a turnip chip that'll send any Beef or Beet roast through the roof, swap out rosemary for parsley and add horseradish cream to mayo for a killer dipping sauce.
• Great served with Mushroom-based veggie burgers, for middle-eastern flavours make a mint-cucumber yoghurt dipping sauce, or for all-American style, mix tomato sauce and mayo for that 'burger sauce' vibe.
• Works beautifully with oilier fish like salmon or trout for fish n chips, season them with salt and pepper only and dip in tartare sauce.

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Serve hot with an entire season of Jane The Virgin or Fargo, depending on your mood.

As always, if you'd like to try any of my recipes and you get stuck- feel free to drop a comment or DM me on Instagram and I'll Skype or Whatsapp you through it.
Here's my personal Insta
or the Official Viral Crowd Insta