14 June 2014

Tarragon turkey with salsify roots

Have you ever eaten salsify? It's called salsifis [sal-see-FEE] in France, and it's known by the names "black salsify" or "Spanish salsify" — among others — in English. It was something CHM wanted to eat while he was here. He remembered his family cooking and eating salsify when he was growing up in Paris back in the 1930s and '40s (if I understood correctly).

Salsifis in a tarragon cream sauce with sauteed mushrooms

I've eaten salsifis several times over the years, but I've never used the fresh vegetable. It's the root of  plants in the sunflower family. The root has a thick black skin that has to be removed either before or after the salsify is cooked by boiling it in water. Salsifis have a mild taste and are cooked served with melted butter, or in a white sauce made with cream and, say, mustard or fresh herbs. They are also good battered and fried, or cooked as fritters.

Turkey legs and thighs browned and then braised in the same tarragon cream sauce
 (Thanks to CHM for this photo)

We bought a can of cooked salsify roots at the supermarket the other day, and we had them with turkey legs and thighs that I cooked in a creamy tarragon sauce. It's easy to get turkey leg/thigh sections here in France, and I enjoy them slow-roasted in the oven with various sauces, including tomato, red wine, or cream. In this case, we wanted the flavor of tarragon, and we used it in its dried form.

Turkey legs and thighs marinating in white wine and vinegar with onion, garlic, and dried tarragon leaves

The first step was to marinate the turkey legs and thighs in white wine and vinegar. I chopped up a small onion, a fairly large shallot, and a big garlic clove. I put all that along with about three heaping tablespoons of dried tarragon on the turkey pieces in a big bowl and then poured about a quarter-cup of tarragon vinegar and three-quarters of a cup of dry white wine over all of it. The only other ingredients in the marinade were salt and pepper. I covered the dish with plastic wrap and let the meat marinate for about three hours.

Put the turkey pieces into a hot oven, uncovered, to brown with vegetable oil and butter.

When it was time, I took the turkey parts out of the marinade and used the back of a knife to scrape the onion and tarragon mixture off each leg and thigh — not throwing it away but putting it back into the marinade dish, the contents of which was going to be the cooking liquid. But first, I wanted to brown the turkey parts in a pan in a hot oven, with some canola oil and butter.

The first stage of the cooking process is to brown the turkey pieces slightly in a hot oven.

As soon as the turkey legs and thighs were slightly browned, I poured the marinade over them and covered the pan I was cooking them in. They went into a 180ºC (350ºF) oven for about an hour. While they cooked, I got the rest of the sauce ingredients ready. I had three-fourths of a cup of heavy cream, about half a cup of chicken broth, and a teaspoonful of potato or corn starch. Dissolve the starch in a little cold liquid before you add it to the hot liquid in the pan with the turkey.

Oven-braise the turkey in the marinade, covered, for 90 to 120 minutes in all.

When the turkey has been in the oven for an hour or 90 minutes, pour the cream and the rest of the sauce ingredients into the pan and stir them into the cooking liquid. Spoon some of the sauce over the turkey pieces and cover the pan. Let it cook for another 30 to 45 minutes in the oven. A good addition to the sauce is a few sauteed mushrooms.

 Serve the braised turkey, mushrooms, and salsify roots glazed with tarragon cream sauce.
 (Thanks to CHM for this photo)

Heat up the salsify roots in a pan on top of the stove with a little butter or oil. When the turkey is done, spoon some of the creamy tarragon sauce over the salsifis and serve the turkey and vegetables with the sauce. It's delicious. The tarragon, wine, and vinegar give the sauce a slightly tart flavor that complements the otherwise slightly bland flavors of the turkey meat and salsify roots. A green salad with vinaigrette dressing is a good second course.

15 comments:

  1. oh, that sounds good! Our butcher does really tasty turkey, we'll have to try this one - definitely!
    Salsify was once known as "vegetable oyster" because it was supposed to taste like oysters. What do you think, any resemblance there?

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    1. I don't detect oyster in the flavor of salisfy root either. Then there are those fungi called oyster mushrooms -- they don't taste like oysters either. Maybe the people who gave these names to root vegetables and mushrooms had never really tasted oysters.

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  2. I have never in my life heard of salsify. Never. Ever. Your dish looks delicious, though!

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  3. I can't remember the last time I ate salsify, just that it is good. You are spoiling CHM.

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  4. Y has bought the canned ones ( from Belgium) a couple of times. He just add a mustard vinagrette to it and we have it as a side dish or with bread ( like céléri rave0

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    1. Bonjour Cousine,

      Before we left Paris, I bought two jars of salsifis at Carefour Cité. Ken braised them in butter. They were somewhat bland. He bought a large can of them at SuperU, I think, and served them with the turkey. These were so much better tasting.

      I just bought another two cans, this time at Monoprix, their brand, and intend to serve them in a Mornay sauce. I might also try Y's recipe which sounds unusual and very good.

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    2. The salsifis/vinaigrette does sound good.

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  5. We grew it once. The likeness to the flavor of oysters eluded us. We've grown a lot of things once.

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    1. Agreed, Carolyn, but I still enjoy salsify roots. We've grown quite a few things once, also.

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  6. A childhood memory recovered and redelivered! Did CHM compare his memory to your dish, Ken? It does look beautiful plated and ready to devour! Salsify roots are a new one to me, too. Has anyone ever seen cans of these for sale in the U.S,?

    Mary in Oregon

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    1. Mary, see CHM's comment above. He did enjoy the SuperU (Bonduelle brand) salsifis, he said. It's funny how these childhood tastes come back to haunt us. I once found Burdock root, fresh, in SF, but now I think it's not exactly the same thing as salsify root.

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    2. In the past I have been particularly aware of childhood food memories when I was living away from my hometown! Perhaps that is why it came to mind while reading your blog about CHM's memory of salsify roots. Super U or Monoprix are written down for my next trip to France for a tin of Salsify! Merci!

      I just had enjoyed a Nougat package from World Market that was produced in Montelimar, France (half vanillla and half pistachio flavored). I was expecting it to not be as flavorful or fresh as the one I had remembered eating while in France many years ago. To my surprise - it was very fresh, soft and flavorful! $2.99. I will be back to buy another one!

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  7. It'a delicious dish but it takes much time to prepare it.You are gifted person.

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    1. Gosia, I just enjoy a variety of good foods. I have infinite patience in the kitchen, and not much fear of failure.

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  8. Looks good with the turkey. I've eaten them in the Netherlands where they're called "schorseneren" -- the word just trips off the tongue! ;-) And often served a bit like asparagus--hard boiled egg, ham, melted butter and a bit of nutmeg.

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