Turnip kimchi

I was very excited to get the September Food & Wine, which highlighted recipes by and features about chefs in the South.  One of the chefs made Korean-inspired dishes in Raleigh, and had a couple of recipes for veggie-friendly little pickles.

At the farmers market they've had garlic scrapes and those red onions that come with fat stems.  There's also turnips!  I've been loving turnips lately, so I decided to try the kimchi.  I love every variety of pickled and fermented thing, and this kimchi was salty and and had that great nose feeling that turnips give.  It wasn't spicy enough though--the next time I make it, I'm going for two serranos!

Turnip Kimchi

adapted from a recipe by Andrea Reusing in Food & Wine

Takes 2 days, but only 30 minutes of work

Makes 1 liter jar of turnips

Day 1

1 bunch turnips, trimmed and halved

1 Tbsp + 1/2 tsp kosher salt

4 cups water

Day 2

1 Tbsp + 1/2 tsp kosher salt

4 cups water

3 garlic scrapes

2 small onions, quartered (the kind that still have their stems are great for this--throw the stems in too)

1/4 inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced

1 serrano chile, halved lengthwise

In a large jar, dissolve 1 Tbsp + 1/2 tsp of salt in 4 cups of water (stir a lot).  When completely dissolved, add turnips.  Cover and let sit overnight.

Drain and rinse the turnips and wash out the jar.  Dissolve the rest of the salt (1 Tbsp. + 1/2 tsp salt) in 4 cups of water in a large bowl.  Place the turnips, the garlic scrapes, the onions, ginger and chile in the jar.  Arrange artistically if you must.  Cover with the brine and  let sit 24 hours.  Enjoy!

Will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.