Europeans make a root vegetable mash that can include turnips. It almost always includes potatoes, with a few to several of these - celery root (celeriac), carrots, turnips, rutabagas. It is delicious. Have had it in several countries to include France and Belgium, where I found it to be quite tasty. Had it with rabbit in a wine reduction sauce in a sidewalk cafe in Paris and with homemade sausages in a small cafe in Brussels on a narrow alley way just off Grand Place.
The name the Europeans call the mash escapes me right now. I tried to recreate it once here, but wasn't able to duplicate that fine concoction. A coworker from France I worked with told me it was because I hadn't processed the celery root correctly.
This whole discussion on turnips had me scratching my head for the name of the root mash, so I dug deep in my emails and finally found the name. It's called stappa.
Here's a recipe that was in the email. For some reason, celery root (Celeriac) isn't mentioned in this recipe.
3 cups potatoes (peeled and cut)
2 cups parsnips (peeled and cut)
1 cup carrot (peeled and cut)
2 cups beef broth (chicken broth or vegetable broth or turkey)
2-4 tbsps butter
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg (optional)
salt
pepper
1 Wash and peel vegetables and cut them into quarters and put in a large pot.
2 Add broth plus enough water to just about cover the veggies.
3 Cook until very tender- as you would for mashed potatoes.
4 Drain well and mash with butter and seasonings. Salt and pepper to taste.
5 Serve hot.
6 Note: If you prefer one veggie over another adjust the amount to include more of what you like and less of what you do not. If you do not like one of the veggies do not use it at all and add more of what you do like. This is a very adaptable recipe and will come out well no matter which types of root veggies you use- even if you use different ones all together such as turnips or rutabagas- just use only what you like and none of those you don't.
