Braised Turnips with Potatoes and Sausage

Turnips and potatoes, braised with sausage in broth.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

When I lived in Germany I attended many outdoor festivals. I loved the winter markets the best--what an experience! New-to-me sights, smells and foods. Once, when my folks were visiting we went to an outdoor market in Cologne. My mom walked up to a group of Germans who were sharing a paper cone of freshly roasted nuts and asked for a taste.

I was mortified. My mom enjoyed her spiced nut.

Now I've turned into my mom. While shopping at the base commissary* I got in line behind a cute little old lady buying turnips. I'd never seen anyone buy turnips before. We frequently get them in our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share, so I was intrigued. Channeling my mom, I asked the lady how she liked to eat her turnips. She said she braised them with potatoes and sausage in a bit of broth. Here's my take on that conversation.

For other recipes using turnips, please see my Turnip Recipes Collection. For other recipes using potatoes, please see my Potato Recipes Collection. These are both part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient. For even more ideas, I've got an assortment of boards on Pinterest you're welcome to check out if you need a time suck!

Braised Turnips with Potatoes and Sausage

2 to 3 cups beef broth (I added water to beef soup base)

2 large turnips, peeled and cubed

2 pounds potatoes, cubed (I left the peels on so the kids would know which was which)

1 pound smoked sausage, cut into bite sized pieces

In a large heavy pot (I use my pretty purple pot--Amazon affiliate link) bring stock to a simmer over medium heat. You want at least half inch of broth over the bottom of the pot. Add the veggies as they are prepped, stir to coat with broth, then cover. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer (covered) about 20 minutes. Uncover, stir in the sausage pieces, and simmer another 10-15 minutes until vegetables are tender and broth is reduced to a heavy glaze. Serve with bread and cheese, in case your kids don't want to eat turnips and will eat the bread and cheese instead.

*If you see me at the grocery store you'd think I have OCD. I can't leave my cart in the carrel at the parking lot without making sure that all of the carts in the carrel are lined up according to size. [I'm driven batty at the commissary as there are 4 different styles of cart but only room for 3 lines in the carrel. I <3 Costco because there's only 1 type of cart.]